


Us Against The World

by NatC7



Series: We Must Be Brave [2]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Amity's parents are shit, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, aaaannngssttt, being outed, cute family fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 53,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26883547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatC7/pseuds/NatC7
Summary: Amity Blight and Luz Noceda are starting their senior year of high school and they must deal with both their growing feelings for each other and the challenges that come with growing up.THIS IS A SEQUEL! PLEASE READ THE FIRST STORY "We Must Be Brave" TO UNDERSTAND THIS ONE. THANK YOU :D
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/Camilia Noceda
Series: We Must Be Brave [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938769
Comments: 429
Kudos: 832





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is it everyone, the sequel to We Must Be Brave. This one shall have romance, not to worry, but it will also have lots of angst. This one will be much longer than WMBB because I have A LOT planned for this one. There will be more indepth looks at Amity and Luz's characters and well I don't want to spoil too much but both their romantic relationship and friendship will be developed in this story. 
> 
> The characters are still minors here and even if they weren't I still wouldn't write smut, because smut is not my thing at all. Please do not ask me to write smut and please do not expect any smut in this story, thank you. Kisses and cuddles is what you're gonna get. 
> 
> I think that's everything! Remember I love comments and thank you so much for reading <3

On the first day of her senior year of high school, Amity was actually nervous about returning to the social environment that was Hexside. She wasn’t the same girl she had been last year, she wasn’t a bully anymore and she had no desire to continue bullying people. Luz had shown her that there were much better ways of getting people to like her and listen to her. 

Amity walked down the hallway to her locker, wincing as students scrambled to get out of her way in fear of getting yelled at. There were a few shocked whispers at Amity’s lack of aggression but she did her best to ignore them. They would just have to get used to it. This year, she was a new Amity. 

She reached her locker and opened it up. With a small smile, and making sure no one was looking, Amity quickly slipped a picture out of her bag. It was a picture of her and Luz on the boat during their camping trip, Luz was making a goofy face while holding the camera out in front of them and Amity was smiling shyly at the lens. Amity had drawn a large heart around her and Luz’s face. She grabbed a small thing of tape in her locker and took off a piece so she could tape the photo to the inside of her door. Then she made sure to keep her locker door as concealed from view as possible while exchanging her stuff. 

Amity looked one more time at the photo, smiling warmly before closing it shut. She turned and nearly had a heart attack as Boscha was right there, leaning against the lockers with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“Boscha where the hell did you come from?!” Amity asked, stepping back slightly from her friend, not in fear but so she could have more space. 

Boscha giggled and spoke in a low voice, “I saw that, Blight. Might want to be careful or people might start thinking Luz is your girlfriend now.” 

“Shh! It’s just something to remind me that I’m a changed woman now,” Amity insisted. 

“You’re still a teenage girl until February,” Boscha teased. “Not quite a woman yet.” 

Amity rolled her eyes and shot back, “Same goes for you, genius.” 

Boscha giggled again and pushed herself away from the lockers. “So you’re gonna need a new victim now that you’re all buddy buddy with Luz,” she said conversationally. “I was thinking that friend of hers, Willow Park, might be a good choice. She’s awfully cute too.” 

Amity shook her head at Boscha and said, “I’m not like that anymore, Bosch. This year we should just try, you know, being nice to people.” 

Boscha balked at her friend, not believing her ears. “Amity, you know fear is the fastest way to make people listen and respect you. If you don’t have someone under your foot to show as an example, how will anyone listen to you?” 

“That’s not true, Boscha,” Amity said. “And you would know that had you accepted any of my requests to hang out with me and Luz.” 

Boscha groaned, slapping a hand to her face and dragging it down slowly. “Un-fucking-believable! So you don’t want to be Queen of the school anymore?” 

“Not really,” Amity admitted. 

Boscha stared at her for a moment, then a smug look grew on her face. “Then I suppose you don’t mind if I take your place?” 

That made Amity snort in amusement. “Go for it, Boscha. Just remember, I’m the one with the best grades around here.” 

“You just destroyed your social life,” Boscha growled at Amity, trying to look threatening. 

“Nah,” Amity said after a moment of thought. “I just made it better.” 

With that, Amity walked past Boscha and headed off to her class, leaving the girl fuming and glaring at her receding figure. Unbeknownst to Boscha, Amity was hurt that Boscha wasn’t willing to see her side of things. Boscha had been her best friend since they were 7 and they had gone through so much together. Now it seemed that their friendship might be ending. 

After the anger ebbed away in Boscha’s chest, guilt took its place. Had she really just driven a wedge between her best friend and herself, all because Amity wanted to actually try making friends with people in a nicer way? A childish part of her shouted “Yes! We don’t need her!” But the Boscha that was Amity’s best friend argued back, “It’s not worth losing her!” 

Boscha groaned, massaging her temples. Amity was right, as always, because feelings were so very complicated. She had some things she needed to think about now too. She decided she would talk to Skara, see her opinion on all of this and maybe that would make things clearer for her. 

Meanwhile, Luz was happy to return to school this year knowing she wouldn’t have to deal with bullying from Amity anymore. Sure there were other students who liked to tease and make fun of Luz but Amity had been the worst. But now she and Amity were friends, so this year was surely going to be much better. 

Luz was looking forward to sitting with Willow and Amity at lunch today, but she had not expected that Amity would look so troubled when she did. Amity was just repeatedly dipping her spoon into her plastic cup of yogurt and hadn’t even bothered to take the sandwich out of her lunchbox. Luz glanced over to Willow who looked just as worried as she did. 

“Amity? Are you alright?” Luz asked, drawing the girl out of her mind. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Amity lied. Then she realized both Willow and Luz were looking at her in concern and understood that they weren’t going to let this go. “Boscha’s just being kind of a dick, as usual,” she said finally. 

Luz scanned the cafeteria and spotted Boscha sitting with Skara at another table farther away from them. Then she looked back at Amity and asked, “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No pressure, but we are here for you,” Willow chimed in supportively. 

Amity gave Willow a small smile and said, “Boscha doesn’t like that I’m less interested in being in control of the entire school. She’s always liked that kind of thing much more than me, but I was hoping she would change her mind like I did.” 

Willow nodded in understanding, looking very wise. “You can’t make people change, Amity. They have to do that themselves.” 

Amity sighed sadly and looked back at her yogurt. “Yeah, that makes sense. It’s just that we’ve been best friends for so long, I thought she’d be more willing to see things my way.” 

“Well you’ve got us now!” said Luz cheerfully, determined to lift Amity’s spirits. “Maybe she’ll come around, maybe she won’t. My mom says it’s best to focus on what we do have and be grateful for that.” 

“Your mom is a very smart woman, Luz,” said Willow. 

Amity nodded in agreement and said, “You’re right. And your mom is right too. Right now this is enough for me.” She gestured to the three of them and the other two girls grinned proudly at her. 

Willow decided to change the subject and started talking about all the upcoming anime series being released next month. Amity listened in while Willow and Luz discussed which ones they were looking most forward to. Amity wasn’t as into anime as Luz and Willow were but some of the shows they mentioned sounded very interesting and Amity decided she would look into some of them herself. 

Luz was elated at this idea and proposed that they start their own anime club. Amity pointed out that the school already had an anime club, but Luz told the story of her awful experience in joining the club during her first year at Hexside. The anime club consisted of a tight knit group of friends that had known each other since childhood and had little interest in welcoming newcomers to their group. Amity agreed that they sounded awful and that a club with just the three of them would be good enough. 

+++

Fingers clicked on a keyboard as the url of Hexside’s school blog was entered into the address bar on the screen. A soft hum came from the user’s lips as he looked over the homepage, taking note of the most popular blogs listed on the side of the website. He clicked on the first listing, a name that read Amity Blight. She seemed to have an awful lot of followers. 

Reading over her blog posts, he took note that most of them mentioned a girl named Luz Noceda. This Amity didn’t seem to like her very much. Now that was something juicy and something he needed to look more into. So he scrolled back up to the top of the webpage and typed in “Luz Noceda” in the search bar. He hit enter and the search results came up, Luz’s blog being at the very top. 

Click.

Luz Noceda seemed to like posting weird and random facts about all sorts of things, telling the user that she was a very bright and curious girl. Looking at her bio, every word screamed nerd to him and the user understood the reason behind Amity’s hatred towards Luz Noceda. The user went back and looked at both of their profile pictures, memorizing what they looked like so he could spot them at school the next day. Having found a point of contention between two students, the user could now start some drama. 

Sending me to a new school was a bad idea, he thought wickedly. Don’t they know I’m just gonna do the exact same thing here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, about the anime club thing, I am projecting a little bit. BUT I want to say something to all of you people going into middle school and high school. Please do not ignore newcomers to the clubs you're already a part of in favor of your long time friends who are already in said clubs. Be welcoming. People like myself join clubs because we want to make new friends and bond over shared interests. Being ignored and ostracised coz you're not already part of the group HURTS LIKE HELL! It really does, so please try to to be inclusive of everyone who joins the club you're in. 
> 
> That is all. Just be nice to people!
> 
> Again thank you for reading and see you soon! <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are introduced to Matthew Mulligan, Hexside's newest dickhead. Because let's be real, that's what he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW FOR BULLYING AND HOMOPHOBIA! ITS ANGST TIME Y'ALL

The transfer student arrived at the end of the first month of the school year, a bit late but not too late that he was too behind. Not that being caught up actually mattered to him, of course. He would get by with the bare minimum and have fun at this new school. 

He introduced himself as Matthew Mulligan, and it seemed everyone had their eyes on him. That was just what Matt wanted, and he preened under the attention. Already he was getting on Amity’s nerves, and that was how Luz found Amity at lunch on Monday. 

Luz followed Amity’s line of sight and her eyes landed on the new transfer student who was sitting at a nearby table, surrounded by students. 

“What’s wrong Amity, jealous that someone is getting more popular than you?” she asked half jokingly.

Amity scoffed, furiously biting into her sandwich and Luz winced at the ferocity in Amity’s actions. “Of course not! Don’t be stupid, I’m not worried about him. He barely pays attention in class so he’s not that much of a threat.” 

“I have trouble paying attention in class myself,” Luz pointed out, which finally drew Amity’s attention away from Matt. 

“What? But Luz, you always study ahead. You’re different, you actually work hard unlike him!” Amity gestured angrily at the large crowd surrounding Matt, “All he has to do is sit and look pretty and everyone’s flocking to him immediately. It’s annoying as hell.” 

Luz snickered and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah you’re definitely jealous,” she said, smirking before taking another bite of apple. 

“How is everyone already so into him?” Amity went on as if Luz had never spoken. “He’s been here for what, a week? It’s so stupid!” 

“Hey, Amity, come on,” Luz tried to think of something to distract her friend. “I brought my sketchbook to school today. You wanna look at some of my latest drawings?” 

Amity appreciated that Luz was trying to help her and honestly she wouldn’t mind the distraction. She nodded and Luz took out her sketchbook and slid it across the table to Amity. Amity started flipping through it, glad to have something else to focus on. Unfortunately it didn’t last long because Matt had decided to approach their table. 

“Huh, what’s this?” Matt said, sneering at the two of them. “According to Hexside’s blog, you’re the most popular student here. Yet you’re hanging out with this nerd,” he pointed at Luz. “And I’m the one currently surrounded by adoring fans. You must be pretty pissed at that, yeah?”

Ah, so that was his play. Amity caught onto him immediately. “Actually, not at all,” said Amity calmly, even though she was screaming at Matt internally. “I couldn’t care less.” 

“Mmm...I think you do though,” Matt pressed, grinning. Then he swiped the sketchbook away from Amity, causing both girls to leap to their feet. 

“Hey that’s mine!” Luz protested. 

Matt started looking through the pages, but didn’t get very far as Amity skillfully snatched it back out of his hands, being careful not to rip any pages loose as she did so. She handed it back to Luz and gave Matt a dark look.

“Fuck. Off.” Amity said coldly, enunciating each word in an icy tone. 

Matt raised his hands in surrender, still smirking cheekily. “Alright alright, I’ll leave you two ladies alone.” Then to Amity he said, “You better figure something out soon though, otherwise this school’s gonna become mine.”

“This school is for everyone!” Luz protested, sick of this little shit already. “What are you even saying?”

Amity put a hand on Luz’s shoulder and said, “Don’t bother. I’m pretty sure he gets off on this power play of his.”

Luz muttered obscenities in Spanish under her breath and then started picking up her stuff. “Let’s go to the library, I don’t want to be around that guy right now.”

Matt watched them go, and immediately decided his next move. After school, he would make sure to ruin things for those two girls. Something was definitely up if Amity was suddenly friends with the nerd, because that didn’t match up with what Matt had seen on her blog.

When Luz and Amity reached the library, Luz was hugging her sketchbook tightly to her chest. Amity was furious for her friend because now her privacy had been violated twice, once by her and now by Matt. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Amity tried to comfort Luz. “I doubt he saw much of your sketchbook.” 

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Luz murmured under her breath. “I’m worried that now Matt’s your replacement and I’m going to suffer as much as I did last year.” 

Amity held out an arm, silently asking if it was okay for her to hug Luz. Luz nodded and let Amity wrap an arm around her shoulders and give her a tight hug. 

“I’m not gonna let that happen, I promise,” said Amity. “Besides, he’s a year behind us. So we hardly have any classes with him.” 

A warm feeling filled Luz’s heart at those words and she was once again glad that Amity was her friend now. “That’s true,” Luz said thoughtfully. “Just lunch time.” 

“We can start eating in the school courtyard if you want,” Amity suggested. “And here on rainy days. We just gotta look out for the librarian.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Luz was feeling better now that Amity had come up with some good solutions. 

The two of them finished their lunch in a quiet corner of the library. Turned out that because both girls were good friends with Willow and already had a good rep with the librarian, they were allowed to eat in the library. They also managed to avoid Matt for the most part for the rest of the day. 

Amity offered to drive Luz home as she had time before she had to go to work at the bookstore. Luz accepted and once they were in Amity’s car, they listened to Girl in Red on the way to Luz’s house. It seemed Camilia was still at the clinic, so Luz would be home alone for a few more hours. 

She decided to work on homework first because of course she’s a nerd who loves her mother and wants to make her proud. Then Luz decided she would make another post on the hexside blog. Thinking back to the cave bats she and Amity had encountered on their camping trip, Luz did some digging on any information she could find about them. 

In her research she came across a very adorable bat known as the bumblebee bat, which was apparently the smallest bat in the world. She made a blog post with a few pictures and detailed various facts about the bumblebee bat. Luz read over her blog post and felt proud of what she had done. 

Her eyes flickered over to the side where the most popular blogs were listed. She realized that she hadn’t added Amity as a friend yet, so Luz clicked on her profile link and hit the add friend button. Then she decided to take a look at Amity’s latest blog post. What she read made her blood run cold. It read: 

_PSA: Luz Noceda is a dyke!_ _She tried hitting on me in the library today. I of course was horrified and I can’t believe I’ve been associating with a lezbo all this time! I assure you, students of Hexside, I am completely straight. Straight A’s, Straight hair, straight girl, that’s me. Stay away from Luz Noceda or she’ll make you gay!_

Luz’s hands were shaking. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, she really couldn’t. Hurt and betrayal rose up from within as she reread the blog post that was on Amity Blight’s own profile page. How could Amity do this? After the whole summer where they had spent so much time together? Had Amity lied when she told Luz she was a lesbian? Clearly that had been her play all along, just saying such lies to get close to Luz.She had literally been planning to destroy Luz’s entire life. 

_ “Esa perra!”  _ Luz cried out in anger. She shoved herself away from her desk, trembling with rage.    
  
She needed to talk to someone. Her mom would be too busy at the clinic so Luz decided she would call Eda. Her heart ached as she hurriedly looked for her phone. She rang Eda’s cellphone but of course the woman didn’t pick up. She rang her again, and again until Eda finally answered the phone. 

“Woah kiddo, what’s going on?” came Eda’s slightly annoyed voice on the other end. 

Luz spoke in Spanish, too upset to speak English,  _ “Por favor ven casa Eda, Amity me traicionó. ¡Te necesito aquí!”  _

Eda only understood half of those words, but she also heard how hurt Luz sounded on the other end. “I’ll come home right now, Luz. Hang in there, okay?” 

_ “S-sí…”  _ Luz sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks.  _ “Gracias…”  _

There was a click and Luz lowered her cellphone, still crying. She thought of the camping trip and all the book club meetings and every time she helped Amity at work. She thought of Amity “coming out” to her at Pride and even going as far as to lying to her moms too. Had that all really been a lie? She wiped away at her tears but they kept coming. 

Luz decided she needed some air. She walked out of her front door and took a seat on the stoop, hoping Eda would be home soon. Surely Eda would know what to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry...*offers a cookie* please don't be mad
> 
> Translations: 
> 
> Por favor ven a casa Eda, Amity me traiciono. Te necesito aqui!- Please come home Eda, Amity's betrayed me. Please I need you here!
> 
> Yes I did make a reference to Little Miss Perfect, I take no credit. And please look up the Bumblebee bat it really is the cutest bat!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendship is dead *sobs*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this now because as much as I love angst I really cannot let this go on for too long and I need you guys to know that it will be fixed soon. My heart is too weak for shattered friendship. Next chapter it'll be fixed. I'm sorry if that's too fast but it has to do with my comfort level.

Eda did her best to hurry home without breaking any traffic laws, though she did narrowly beat a few orange lights. When she pulled up and saw Luz sitting on the stoop looking absolutely torn, her heart broke. She had mentioned something about Amity, and Eda was worried something had happened to her new friend. 

She got out of the car, bringing the hot chocolate she had made for Luz with her. “Hey kiddo,” she said gently, taking a seat next to Luz on the steps. “Brought you some hot chocolate.” 

Luz accepted the hot chocolate and leaned into Eda’s side. “A-Ami-” she broke into a sob, unable to finish the girl’s name. “Sh-she told everyo-one!” Luz tried to speak between sobs. She closed her eyes as Eda started to rub gentle circles into her back and tried to focus on breathing. 

Finally she was able to speak, “Amity posted my sexuality on the school’s blog. The whole school knows I’m bi now.” 

Eda was not as quick to believe that as Luz had been. Between her own interactions with the Blight girl and what her sister has told her about Amity at the bookstore, Amity still seemed to be a really nice girl. It didn’t make sense that she would out Luz like this, especially if she herself was a lesbian. 

“Luz, are you sure you read the post right?” Eda asked carefully. “Didn’t Amity tell us she was a lesbian?”

Luz scoffed bitterly, a hard look coming across her face. “She was obviously lying. I should have known she was just using me,  _ esa maldita perra! _ ” 

Eda sighed heavily and tried again, “Luz, do you think she really wrote that post? Maybe she accidentally left her account open on a public computer and someone else came and wrote that post.” 

Luz took another deep breath and wiped away a few more tears off her cheek. “She wouldn’t be that stupid Eda, especially not if she was clever enough to trick me for an entire summer!” 

Eda frowned, seeing she wasn’t getting anywhere with Luz. “Okay well at least talk to her okay? Don’t come to conclusions without knowing all the facts first.” 

“I don’t think I will, Eda,” said Luz bitterly. She drank more of her hot chocolate and said. “I’m sorry for calling you off work so early.” 

“Don’t be sorry, you’re hurting and you needed me here,” Eda assured her. “How about we go back inside and we can watch that anime you like so much, Shera or something.” 

Luz blushed in embarrassment and said, “It’s She-ra, and it’s not an anime. But yeah, let’s do that.” 

Eda smiled and stood up, helping Luz up to her feet. The two of them went inside and Luz let herself be absorbed into the world of Etheria for a few hours, numbing herself to the heartbreak.

+++

Amity noticed something was off when she got to school the next day. Students were staring at her while whispering amongst each other. Some were giving her looks of pity but most students were giving her looks of confusion and disbelief. On the way to her locker, Matt decided to step into her path. 

“Hey Blight! I’m expecting a thank you right now for giving back your popularity,” he said with a smug grin. 

Amity frowned at him, just as confused as the other students around them were. “What are you talking about?” she asked. 

“Huh?” Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened up the internet app to show Amity her blog’s main page. “Haven’t you checked your blog?”

Amity swiped the phone out of his hand and scrolled down, stiffening when she saw the latest blog post. Someone had apparently posted while pretending to be her, and that someone was apparently standing right in front of her. 

Luz must hate her right now. And it was all Matt’s fault. “What the fuck did you do?!” Amity threw the phone at him. “Did you hack my account or something?” 

“Nooooo…” Matt lied, drawing out the ‘o’. “I just gave you some help, that’s all.” He scooped up his phone and said, “Look you already have 150 likes!” 

Amity growled and shoved past him. She had to find Luz, or at least talk to her as soon as she could. She reached her locker and took out her own phone, sending a text to Luz asking her to please talk to her as soon as she could. The bell rang and Amity knew she wouldn’t be able to wait for a response without being late to class.

Reluctantly, Amity sat through one, and then two classes without an answer from Luz. She reasoned that Luz was just paying attention for once in class, being the hard working nerd that she was. Then lunch time came, and Amity found Luz and Willow at their table. She noticed that the other two chairs at the table were filled with their backpacks. 

Willow stood up and got right up in Amity’s face, glaring hatred into her very soul. “You have a lot of nerve trying to come sit with us at our table after what you did!” 

Luz nodded from behind Willow and said, “Well played, Amity. Well played. You ruined my life. Congratulations. Was it worth it?” 

Amity swallowed and tried to explain, “Guys, I swear it wasn’t me! I would never post something like that, and you know it! It was Matt, he hacked into my account somehow!” 

Luz snorted and said, “I doubt that dick is smart enough to know how to hack into computers. Just admitted Amity, you were using me. You won. Why don’t you just be happy about that?” 

Tears came to Amity’s eyes as she looked straight back at Luz. “Why would I be happy about breaking the trust of my first real friend that I chose, myself?” 

“You didn’t choose me to be your friend, you chose me to be your pawn in this game of popularity you love to play,” Luz replied harshly. “Just go somewhere else Amity. You’re not sitting with us.” 

Amity’s hands were trembling, but she knew that was it. She would have to fix this on her own. Amity turned away sadly and headed out of the cafeteria. She had lost her appetite. Luckily for her, Amity knew of one person that just might be able to help. She just hoped he would be willing to listen, since she had also bullied him a couple years back. 

Amity headed down to the computer lab where the IT Club was currently having a club meeting. She knocked on the door and poked her head inside. Several heads turned to look at her and every face was not exactly happy to see Amity.

“Hey, you’re banned from the lab, remember?” one of the students spoke, Amity thought his name might have been Jerbo.    
  
“You’re not allowed in here,” said a shorter, dark skinned boy who was glaring coldly at Amity. 

“Gus, please, I need your help!” 

Gus scoffed and the kids around him laughed. “Yeah, I’m definitely gonna help the girl who used to torment me every day!” 

“Please, Gus,” Amity pleaded with him, stepping further into the room. “My whole world is ending. I’m not like that anymore, and I have something I need to fix, fast. Please just do this one thing for me and I will never talk to you again!” 

Gus heard the desperation in Amity’s voice and sighed. It had been a while since Amity had done anything really bad. Maybe he could risk helping her, just this once. 

“Alright, fine. What is it?” Gus asked, folding his arms against his chest. 

“I think my account got hacked. That new kid, Matt, somehow got into my blog and posted as me. I need you to, I don’t know, unhack my account and maybe give me some proof that it did get hacked,” Amity explained. Then she added, “Please? I need to fix this!” 

“Oh, Matt? Ugh, yeah I’ve heard of him,” Gus muttered. “I actually knew him back in middle school. Nice to see he hasn’t changed at all.” 

“So you’ll help me?” Amity asked, hope rising in her throat. 

“Yeah, but only because I hate that guy as much as you do apparently,” said Gus. Then to the students at the table he said, “Alright team, we got work to do.” 

Relief washed over Amity as she watched the group of computer nerds get to work on fixing her account. She stood there awkwardly, not sure how long it was going to take and if she should just stay there until they were finished. Jerbo looked up and noticed Amity was still standing there. He nudged Gus, motioning for him to say something. 

“Oh uh, this will take a bit,” said Gus. “You can find me here again after school. I’ll have what you need then.” 

Amity gave him a genuine smile and said, “Thank you Gus. Really. And I’m sorry about everything that happened before.” 

Gus shrugged and said, “I’m over it. Talk to you later.” 

Amity took that as a hint for her to leave and she gave the IT club a wave before leaving the classroom. Now all she could really do was wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hang in there guys


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justice. Friendship is saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this one, and I hope it doesn't seem to rushed or awkward. Honestly I had a bit of difficulty but I wanted to resolve the conflict and just show that Matt is just an asshole who will definitely continue to bother Luz and Amity but not so much that their friendship will break again. This is also showing that Amity has a better, healthier social standing at school now and people are starting to see her as less of a bully and more of someone who is trying to change for the better. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is appreciated, and remember I love comments! Thanks for reading :D
> 
> I'm sorry I should have put this earlier, trigger warning for homophobia and biphobia!

Luz took the bus home that day. When she got home, Eda was already home from work, having had a morning shift. Eda studied her daughter’s face as she walked into the kitchen and put down her school bag. Luz still looked pretty upset, and Eda wondered if she had tried talking to Amity yet. Eda put the lid back on the pot of soup she was making and walked over to the table. She took a seat next to Luz who was starting to pull out her school work. 

“Hey kiddo, did you talk to Amity today?” Eda pressed. 

“No,” Luz said in a neutral tone, not looking up to meet Eda’s eyes. “She tried to sit with us at lunch. We didn’t let her.” 

Eda sighed, taking that as a no. “So are you planning on talking to her at all or?” 

“Why should I, Eda? She’s obviously not changed!” Luz said, and Eda could hear the underlying hurt in Luz’s voice. 

“Well did she say anything when she approached you at lunch today?” Eda kept pressing for more information. She wanted Luz to be happy again, and that meant getting to the root of whatever was going on between her and Amity. 

Luz sighed and finally looked up at Eda, eyes void of any light that she had a couple days ago. “She tried to say that her account was hacked by the new kid, but I don’t believe her. That kid is so dumb I doubt he’s smart enough to know how to hack.” 

Well that was something at least, Eda thought. “So there’s a new kid at school, huh? What’s he like?” 

“A total-” Luz stopped herself, knowing she really shouldn’t swear in front of Eda. “Uh, he’s a jerk. Tried to take my sketchbook yesterday. Amity seems really jealous of him, I think she’s worried he’s trying to take her place as most popular student or something.” 

“Ah,” Eda started connecting some dots and concluded, “So you think Amity’s post is her move against him in this little...uh, popularity contest of theirs?” 

“Yup,” Luz confirmed. “And I was just another pawn.” 

Eda took a moment to think, trying to understand why, if Amity really was the one who wrote that post, why she would even do that. Then there came the sound of the doorbell, and both Eda and Luz looked up in surprise. 

“I’ll get it,” Eda assured Luz. 

She stood and went to the door, peeking through the peephole to see a familiar green haired girl standing outside. Eda unlocked and opened the door, looking Amity up and down. She had her phone and a thin packet of paper in hand, a mixture of fear and worry on her features. 

“Hey kid...I uh, I heard about what happened,” Eda said, not moving to let the girl in just yet. “Luz is pretty upset, but I haven’t heard your side of the story yet.” 

Amity nodded mutely and handed over what was actually a handwritten note and what looked like a printed screenshot paperclipped to said note. 

“Eda, please believe me when I say I would never do something like that to Luz. I like her a lot and I would never lie to her like that. Not after everything that happened over the summer,” Amity said with genuinity in her voice. 

Eda looked over the note and saw it was signed by some kid named Gus who was apparently part of the IT club, and the printed screenshot showed the webpage Amity had gotten when she tried to log into her own account on the school blog. There was text saying that her account had been compromised and she was locked out of the account until further notice. 

“Damn, the things kids can do with technology these days,” Eda murmured under her breath. “Alright, kiddo, I’ll tell Luz you’re here.” 

Before she could say anything more, she heard Luz come up from behind her. “Eda, who’s-oh...” Luz stopped as she saw Amity standing on their doorstep. She gave the green haired girl a cold glare and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Eda doubted Luz was going to listen, so she went ahead and handed the two papers to her daughter. 

“Luz, before you say anything, look at this,” Eda told her. 

Luz was surprised but took a look at the note and the screenshot. As she reread the note, her anger towards Amity dissolved. 

Amity had gone and put in the effort to prove that it wasn’t her who posted Luz’s secret, which meant the Amity in front of her was still the same Amity she had hung out with all summer. This time it was Luz who owed Amity an apology. She stepped out of the house and closer to Amity, pulling the other girl into a tight hug. 

Eda chuckled and decided to give them their moment. She went into the house, closing the door and leaving the two of them alone on the small porch. 

“I’m sorry, Amity, I should have believed you,” Luz murmured as Amity returned the hug. “Eda was right. I should have talked to you first.” 

“I’m not mad at you Luz,” said Amity, pulling away after the hug. “I just want you to know that I would never do something like that to you. Ever.” 

Luz nodded slowly, giving Amity a small smile. Then she looked down at the papers that were still in her hand and said, “Still doesn’t change that the whole school knows my secret now.” 

“I’m still going to delete the post once I get access to my account again,” Amity assured her. “And if anyone at school bothers you about it, know I’ll have your back.” 

“I’m gonna kill Matt,” Luz said suddenly, surprising Amity. 

Amity chuckled and grinned at Luz, “I’d love to see that.” 

Both Amity and Luz knew they would have to watch their backs from now on. Luckily for them, their friendship was even stronger now and they could handle anything else Matt tried to do to them. 

The two of them continued talking on the porch until Camilia got home. Of course, she invited Amity in for dinner and the green haired girl happily accepted. When Amity returned home that night, she found out her parents knew about the blog post because of course they liked to monitor Amity’s blog to make sure she was on her best behavior. 

So at school the next day, the first thing Amity did was find Luz at her locker. Luz was happy to see her friend, but she immediately picked up on Amity’s troubled composure. 

“Luz, my parents saw the post before my account got locked down,” Amity said, causing fear to creep up on Luz’s shoulders. “They were...they want me to stay away from you.” 

“Ay dios,” Luz muttered. She was so tired of hearing about Amity’s parents at this point and she wasn’t really surprised that they would say something about this. “So does that mean we have to be sneaky about hanging out now?” 

“It does, but thankfully I can use my new job at Terrace Books as a cover,” Amity said with a smile. “They don’t know that you help with after school story time on Fridays.” 

Luz grinned and said, “I guess that makes us secret agents. Ooh we’re gonna need code names!” Amity snorted in amusement at Luz’s antics as she continued, “I’ll be Agent Luzura. And you can be Agent Hecamity!” 

Amity broke into full blown laughter, unable to hold it in. Luz started giggling with her and Amity felt her worries wash away. Then the bane of their existence decided to drop in, and the two of them stood closer together in defense mode. 

“What are you two dykes laughing about?” Matt asked when he approached, scowling at the two girls. “You two are supposed to be at each other’s throats by now.” 

Luz rolled her eyes and said, “Oh my God Matt, grow up already! And by the way, I’m not a lesbian. I’m bisexual, I just want to make that clear.” 

“Oh so you’re the kind who can’t make up her mind, huh?” Matt grinned and stepped closer to Luz. “I can help with that.” 

_ THWACK! _

Luz’s fist collided with Matt’s face in the next second, sending the boy staggering backwards. “Not interested,  _ Dull- _ igan. Try someone with an I.Q. that actually matches yours,” Luz suggested, trying to hide the fact that her fingers ached with that poorly executed punch. Anger simmered in her belly like a fine stew, so her throbbing fist hardly bothered her. 

Amity felt a little swell of pride in her chest when Luz spoke, both from the punch and the clever nickname she just gave Matt. She noticed people were starting to come closer to them and watch, and rolled her eyes. High school students just loved drama in action it seemed. 

“You bitch!” Matt shouted, clutching at his face. “You broke my nose!” He lowered his hand to reveal an only slightly red nose that was definitely not bleeding in any way. 

“Hmm, should have hit harder then,” said Luz, balling her fist up for another punch. 

“Luz, wait! Please, I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Amity protested, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I know he’s a dick but he’s trying to provoke us, and you know it.” 

“What’s going on here?!” came a teacher’s voice, and both girls paled as the Earth Science teacher, Mr Lauderman, approached them. The gathering students quickly dispersed and went back to their business, but Amity noticed several of them giving Luz a thumbs up. Others even nodded to Amity, as if showing their approval or something. 

Matt pointed at Luz and said, “That little bitch broke my nose!” 

Mr Lauderman raised a brow, eyeing the boy’s “broken” nose for a moment. “Uh huh, well I’m sure you did something to provoke it.” He gave Luz a knowing smile and said, “Ms. Noceda is one of my best students, and I highly doubt she would resort to such violence.” 

Luz silently thanked Mr Lauderman for his intervention and Amity allowed herself to finally relax.    
  
“The three of you should get to class now, yes?” Mr Lauderman continued, staring pointedly at Matt. 

Matt scowled, but he knew when he lost. Shooting the two girls a glare, he stalked off. Then Mr. Lauderman turned to Amity and Luz and gave them a brief nod. “That’s the only time I’ll cover for you, Ms. Noceda. I’m aware that Mr. Mulligan is a troublesome student, but I hope you will take care to not let your anger get the best of you again in the future.” 

Luz knew she owed him one and said, “Thank you Professor Lauderman. I promise it won’t happen again.” 

Mr. Lauderman smiled and said, “Good. Now get to class you two.” 

Both girls obeyed, not wanting to push their luck any further. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity and Luz get excited about an upcoming event. Boscha and Skara finally talk to Amity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the shorter chapter! I'm still struggling with these in between bits. Next chapter will be longer, I promise. Lots of fluff after all the angst. There will be more angst later in the story though so be ready for that ;)
> 
> Thank you guys for reading and remember I love comments <3

As it turned out, it wasn’t all that difficult to fool Amity’s parents. Outside of school, the only time they could control their daughter was when Amity was home. So Amity simply just needed to spend as much time out of the house as she could, like she always did. 

Amity and Luz easily fell into a routine of heading to Eda’s cafe on days when Amity didn’t work. About a couple weeks into October, a few fliers showed up on various bulletin boards around school informing students of the upcoming Downtown Book Festival. When Luz saw one of these small fliers, she was more excited than she had been before. She usually just went with Willow and one of her moms, but this year Amity could come too! 

At lunch one day, she brought up the festival to her friends. “It’s that time of year again, guys! Luz exclaimed, her whole body trembling with excitement. “The annual Downtown Book Festival in Seattle!” Luz took out a copy of the flier from her backpack and handed it over to Amity. 

“I usually go with Willow and one of my moms, but you should come with us!” She invited Amity. 

Amity read through the flier, a small smile on her lips. She had heard of this festival, it usually lasted an entire week and there was always food and games to play as well as dozens of bookstands. Local authors would often come to the festival to promote their own books, and sometimes famous authors from out of the area would come do a small presentation. 

Amity had been to the festival a few times with the twins as it was a nice chance for the three of them to bond. She looked back up at Luz and said, “I’d love to come!” 

Since it was such a popular event for many high school and college students, Hexside allowed seniors to leave school early during the week of the festival to attend. Juniors could go as well as long as they had maintained an B average during their first two years of high school. Luz had been able to go last year and used it as a chance to get away from Amity, so now she found it kind of funny that she would be attending the festival with Amity this year. 

“Yes, this will be so much fun!” Luz said happily. “And it’s just in time for the new Azura novel which comes on the first day of the festival!” 

“Oooh!” Amity had forgotten that the sixth Azura novel was soon to be released. The conversation turned into theories about what would happen in the sixth book. Willow wasn’t as into the series as the other two girls were, but she listened amicably while eating her own lunch. Observing Amity, she was glad that the green haired girl was still their friend and if they had Amity in their group, they could handle anything that happened this year. 

Matt sat at his table nearby, glaring at the group of friends. His plan had failed and now he needed to think of a new one. He thrived on drama, and the fact that the three girls were all friends now infuriated him. Suddenly someone sat at his table, and Matt saw that it was Boscha. 

“I know exactly who you’re looking at,” Boscha said with a frown. “Amity might not want to be Queen of the school anymore, but I still do. And I will not let you mess with Amity or either one of her friends. So whatever you’re planning, it stops now.” 

Matt scoffed at her, amused at her boldness. “And I’m going to listen to you because?” 

Skara dropped into the seat next to Boscha, startling Matt. “Because we can make your life hell if you do. Our parents are some powerful people, Matthew Mulligan. You should be careful about who you’re messing with.” 

Matt scowled at the two of them. “I’m not scared of you.” 

Boscha smirked and stood up, “You should be.” 

Matt was expecting them to go back to wherever they had come from, but instead they went and joined Amity and her friends at their table. 

_ Dammit, _ he thought. 

When Boscha and Skara approached their table, Amity was surprised to see that they were choosing to sit with her. Things were still tense between them, as far as Amity knew. Then Boscha started talking. 

“Okay Blight, I mean, Amity, I wanted to..” Boscha paused and took a deep breath, as if trying to work up the courage to speak. Finally she continued, “I wanted to apologize for what I said on the first week of school. As it turns out, you haven’t destroyed your entire social life.” Boscha offered a small smile to Willow and Luz. “These two nerds...are actually very nice nerds, and you seem so happy when you’re sitting with them. So I was wrong.” 

After the initial shock of hearing these words, emotion rose up to Amity’s throat. Boscha saw she was starting to tear up and groaned. “No, don’t get all sappy on me, apologizing was hard enough already.” 

Amity burst into a laugh and leapt out of her chair, hugging Boscha tightly. Boscha groaned even louder, but returned the hug. Skara giggled as Amity pulled her into the hug as well. Luz and Willow watched silently in happiness for the three friends, glad to see that things were better between them. 

“Alright that’s enough! I do have an image to uphold here,” Boscha said, pushing both of them away. 

Amity smiled fondly at her friend and settled back into her seat. “Of course, wouldn’t want to ruin that,” Amity teased. 

“We still want to be your friends, Amity,” said Skara, looking hopeful. She turned her gaze to Willow and Luz and added, “And maybe we could be your friends too?” 

Luz grinned at her and said, “That’s fine by me!” 

Willow nodded in agreement. “We were just talking about the book festival a bit earlier. Do you guys want to come with us?” 

Skara’s eyes widened, being a book lover herself. “Ooh yes! That sounds fun!” 

Boscha wasn’t really into books like the rest of them were, but it was a chance to get out of school. “Yeah sure, whatever. I’m in,” Boscha replied. 

+++

  
Since it was a Friday, Amity and Luz headed to the bookstore after school together. Luz hung around in the bookstore while Amity got herself clocked in and met with Lilith. 5pm was story time, and ten minutes beforehand, Luz helped Amity set up the small reading nook. Soon parents arrived with their children and they got started on story time which usually meant reading two or three books.    
  
When they finished the third story, Amity decided to inform the kids and their parents about the book festival. “So there’s a very fun event coming up next week,” Amity said with a knowing smile. 

Most of the kids weren’t sure what Amity was talking about as they were a bit too young, and they started excitedly speculating about what it could be. Some of the parents knew what Amity was referring to but decided to play along for their kids. 

“Alright, calm down,” Luz said, smiling at the kids. “There’s a big festival happening and it’s all about books! You guys will be able to get snacks, and games, and just for you, free books!” 

The kids screamed in joy and some of them started calling out to their parents, begging to be allowed to go to the festival. Amity put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, immediately quieting the crowd of small children. 

“But you have to be on your best behavior if you really want to go!” Amity explained. “And of course, it’s up to your parents.” 

There was a chorus of yes ma’ams and okays from the children and Luz was glad to see kids so excited about books. They reminded her of herself when she was their age. One of the children, Braxas, spoke up. 

“Ms. Luz and Ms. Amity, are you going to be there?” Braxas asked.

“Oh we’re definitely going to be there,” Luz said with a conspiratorial wink. “You kids think you can have all the fun to yourselves?” 

Giggles broke out among the children and Amity laughed with them. “Alright well we just wanted to tell you about the festival before we’re finished today,” Amity said, mostly to the parents. But then to the kids she said, “I look forward to seeing you guys there!” 

The kids cheered and the parents thanked Luz and Amity before heading out with their kids. Luz and Amity cleaned up while talking about what they might do at the festival. Next week was going to be fun for all of them. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Book Festival!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this chapter! This is probably the only one Im gonna do for the book festival and the rest will be in exposition very briefly because I can only think of so many things to do at a book festival. 
> 
> Remember I love comments! Thanks for reading <3

The following Monday, it was finally the first day of the book festival. At noon when students were able to leave early, Luz, Amity, and friends all left school together. Willow joined Luz in Amity’s car while Boscha and Skara followed behind them to downtown Seattle. 

The festival was already abuzz with activity, the street having already opened up to the public a few hours earlier that morning. Skara was eager to get her hands on some new books as she had even brought a list. She was torn between wanting to run off on her own and staying with the other girls; Boscha assured her that they had all week and would get everything on Skara’s list eventually. 

They started walking down the street as a group, checking out all the small tables and stalls. Several stalls sold merchandise related to various popular book series, there were stalls holding old and rare editions of comics and novellas, there were stalls with latest releases, it was basically an outdoor bookstore, only more exciting. 

Of course, the group stopped when Amity and Luz came across the stand holding almost all things related to the Good Witch Azura book series. Immediately, both girls grabbed their own copy of the newly released sixth Azura book, holding it tightly as if the books may disappear any second. 

Luz took notice of a stack of witch hats in the design of Azura’s signature hat and pointed it out to Amity. “We should get these!” Luz said excitedly. 

Amity nodded in agreement and took one each, putting them on. “Here, let’s take a picture!” Amity said, pulling out her phone. “Willow, can you please take our picture?” 

Willow, who was standing right by them smiled and agreed, holding her hand out to take Amity’s phone. “Of course. You two should do a pose or something!”

Luz and Amity got into position, each girl standing with a hand on one hip and an arm outstretched, pointing a finger as if it were a wand. Their backs were pressed together and both girls grinned at Willow, waiting for their pictures. Willow took a couple of pictures and then returned the phone to Amity, who looked at them immediately. Amity sent the pictures to Luz so she could have them on her own phone. 

Luz beamed at Amity and reached her hand out for a high five, and the green haired girl returned it with gusto. Then Amity got an idea. “Hang on, we should all wear the hats and take a group picture!” 

“Wha-?” Boscha realized Amity meant her and Skara as well, but before she could say anything she was pulled into place besides Amity. 

Luz asked the vendor selling the merchandise to take their picture with her phone and he agreed since there were no other customers at the moment. The five of them, once wearing their hats, got one group picture with normal, smiling expressions, and then another with goofy faces and poses. When Luz got her phone back, she sent the pictures to Willow and Amity. 

Amity was a little hesitant to keep the pictures on her phone because what if her parents saw? She told herself it was fine, because her parents were aware of her fascination with Azura and honestly wouldn’t care as long as it didn’t get in the way of her academic and social success. Amity allowed herself to relax and forwarded the photos to Skara and Boscha before pocketing her phone. 

Amity paid the vendor extra along with the price for her hat as a thank you, insisting that he keep the money. Amity and Luz kept their hats on as the group continued on to explore more of the festival. They stopped at a few other stalls so Skara could buy some books on her list before eventually deciding to split up for a while. 

Willow decided to go with Skara and Boscha since she did have her own list of books she wanted to find at the festival. So Luz and Amity were left to their own devices. They walked down to the plaza where several activities were taking place. 

Several tents were geared towards children, having activities such as face painting and arts and crafts. Then Amity noticed a few tables grouped together in a familiar set up. There were different stacks of packaged books and a large sign next to the tables read “Blind Date with a Book.” 

“Hey Luz, check this out!” Amity brought Luz’s attention to the tables and they walked over. “Instead of knowing what the title is or judging based on the cover, you pick a book based on a description that interests you and try reading it yourself!” 

“Ooh!” Luz’s eyes widened at that idea and looked over the various stacks. “Let’s pick one out for each other!” 

Amity thought this was a good idea, but then she realized she didn’t really know what other kind of books Luz was into. The same could be said for her, as Amity hadn’t really told Luz much about what other books she liked to read. Luz seemed to come to this same realization and the two of them blushed in embarrassment. 

“Okay, okay,” Luz said after a moment of thought. “Off the top of your head, name 3 things you like to see in a book!” 

“Adventure, magic, and ro-ealism!” Amity was shy to admit that she liked reading books with romance in them, and so she quickly corrected herself.    
  
“Huh...You just said magic and realism in the same sentence,” Luz said with a giggle. “Magical realism is a thing though, so that works!” 

Amity smiled and said, “It’s your turn. Top 3 things you like to see in a book!” 

“Magic, mystery, friendship!” Luz replied immediately. 

A moment passed until both girls noticed the connection between their choices. 

“I...I think we just described the Azura series!” Luz said with a laugh. 

Amity giggled, seeing she was right. “Well...I guess we’ll have to stick with those then. Or we could try something new,” Amity added as an afterthought. 

Luz’s face lit up as she got a new idea. “How about we go based on each other’s vibes, or current mood?” She suggested. 

“Well I’m in a pretty good mood right now,” Amity said. “So something not depressing would be nice.” 

Luz understood and started looking over the selection in front of them. She reached over the table and picked up one packaged book, showing Amity the description written on one side. 

_ Queer steampunk adventure set in the Victorian Era! _

“Huh,” Amity took the book from Luz and stared at it. “So you think I have steampunk vibes or Victorian vibes?” 

“Well who doesn’t like steampunk?” Luz explained. “And the Victorian Era is all about high society which is kind of your thing, isn’t it?” 

“Mm, it was, but it’s really more of my parents’ thing,” Amity clarified. “But I do like the words queer steampunk, because it sounds so rebellious which actually suits me really well. This is a good choice!” 

Luz pumped her fist in the air and cried, “ _ Éxito _ !” 

Amity giggled and said, “Alright, my turn.” 

Amity looked over the table and tried to think of something that would suit a nerdy girl like Luz. Then she spotted a possible option and picked it up, handing it over to Luz so she could read the description. It read: 

_ A modern day mystery with spies and a hunt for a lost empire. _

Before Luz could say anything, Amity explained, “I remembered what you said about us being secret agents and being sneaky around my parents, so I thought you might like a spy adventure.” 

Luz had forgotten about that and she was touched that Amity had remembered such a moment. “It definitely sounds like a fun read. Thanks Amity!” she thanked her. 

Amity grinned and looked around for the person managing the table. Then she spotted a familiar dark skinned boy moving wrapped books from a box to an empty spot on the table. 

“Gus!” Amity called to him, drawing his attention. 

She noticed the slight flinch Gus made at the sound of her voice and felt a little guilty. She had hoped he wouldn’t still be afraid of her. Gus walked around the table to approach them, a guarded expression on his face. 

“You know him?” Luz asked, looking from Amity to Gus. 

“Um...I kinda bullied him a while back,” Amity admitted. “I’m sorry Gus, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me. I’m just surprised to see you here.”

“Well yeah, I’m not just a computer nerd you know,” Gus replied, keeping his voice neutral. He glanced at Luz and said, “I see you smoothed things over with your friend.”    
  
Gus offered Luz a friendly smile and held out his hand, “Hey! I’m Gus. I’m in the IT club at school, but I also like volunteering for the book festival too.” 

“Hi Gus!” Luz shook his hand and smiled back at him. “I should probably thank you for what you did a few weeks ago, so thank you!” 

Gus had noticed their casual conversation from a few minutes ago and was starting to think Amity really was changing. Luz seemed genuinely happy to be around Amity too. He gave Luz a polite nod and smiled. 

“Sure thing. So uh…” Gus wanted to move the conversation into more comfortable territory and said, “You two find any books you like?” He gestured to the books the girls were holding. 

“Yeah, we did!” Luz said. “How much do we owe you for them?” 

“Oh, you can pay for them over here. They’re $10 each,” Gus said, gesturing over to a small section where an electronic register sat.    
  
The girls paid for their books and then Luz invited Gus to come hang out with them. Gus was appreciative of the gesture especially since he had only just met Luz, but he had to decline since he was busy running the Blind Date table. 

“Sorry, but I’ll see you at school!” Gus assured them. 

Luz at least wanted to get his number so she could add him to the group chat. Amity preemptively apologized for the upcoming spam of messages and suggested that Gus mute the conversation. Luz and Amity parted ways with Gus and went to experience more of the festival. 

They sat at a few book talks by local authors before eventually meeting up with Boscha, Skara, and Willow again. 

“Hey, let’s get some funnel cake!” Skara suggested. “It’s an essential at any festival.” 

Amity wholly agreed with this and they searched for a food truck with said funnel cakes. They sat together at a nearby eating area and had a late lunch. 

Luz tried her best to not make a mess but still managed to coat her entire chin in powdered sugar. Without thinking, Amity picked up a clean napkin and reached over, wiping the sugar off of Luz’s chin, causing the other girl to blush a deep crimson. Amity realized what she had just done and yanked her hand away, her own face turning tomato red. 

“Uh, I’m sorry I just--your face was all sugary and I wanted to--I’m sorry!” Amity stumbled over her words in an apology. 

“Ah, it’s okay! I should have been more careful anyway,” Luz tried to ease Amity’s worries.

Boscha and Skara were smirking at Amity and Willow was looking at Luz with narrowed eyes. Now Amity’s ears were red and she tried to think of a way to change the subject. 

“We should probably head back home after this,” Willow finally stepped in, saving Amity the trouble. “It’s been a good day!” 

Skara nodded and said, “I’ve had a lot of fun. Can’t wait for tomorrow!” 

Amity let relief wash over her, grateful that her friends had changed the subject. She did avoid further eye contact with Luz for the rest of their meal however, but by the time they were back in the car Luz seemed to have forgotten about the incident. Amity dropped Luz off at her house before heading home, prepared for an interrogation by the Blight twins. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween Special Chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's sleepover time on Halloween Night! Boscha and Skara join Amity and Willow at Luz's house for a fun filled sleepover. Prepare yourselves for awkwardness! 
> 
> I'm very excited about this chapter, and I hope you guys like it! I know it's long but it is a special chapter so enjoy!

The incident with the napkin stayed on Luz’s mind for a while even after she was home. It distracted her greatly from doing homework and she decided to take a break and watch some Youtube. Even while watching an adorable puppy reunite with his owners after they had been on a two week trip to another country, Luz still found herself drifting back to that event. 

Her brain tried to conjure up about a dozen reasons for why Amity had done that, some of them being she was just trying to be nice and save Luz from embarrassment or maybe Amity just found it really gross and wanted it dealt with right away. Did it really mean anything more than that?    
  
“Ugh!” she groaned loudly, running her fingers through her hair. “ _ ¿Por qué no puedo dejar de pensar en ello? _ ” 

Luz returned to trying to do homework and was able to finish a decent amount that time. The napkin incident was finally pushed to the back of her mind and Luz temporarily forgot about it. She continued attending the festival with her friends for the rest of the week and they did have a great time. 

When it got closer to Halloween, Willow and Luz planned to do their usual sleepover. They decided to invite Amity this time, but the green haired girl was a bit hesitant when they brought it up at lunch. 

“A sleepover sounds lovely, but is it really okay if I join you?” Amity asked, not wanting her friends to feel too pressured to invite her. 

“Well we’re inviting you, aren’t we?” Luz said cheekily.    
  
Amity let out a soft laugh at Luz’s adorkable grin. “Then yes I would love to join you for a sleepover!” 

Boscha and Skara suddenly dropped into the two remaining seats at their table, only having caught the tail end of the conversation. 

“What’s this about a sleepover?” Boscha asked, smirking at the three of them. 

“Can we come?” Skara asked hopefully. 

“Skara, you can’t just invite yourself to things!” Boscha scolded her friend. Then she looked over at Amity and asked, “Can we still come though?” 

Amity gestured to Luz and Willow, “It’s up to them.” 

Two pairs of eyes landed on Luz and Willow, putting them into the spotlight. 

“Oh um, I don’t mind but…” Luz trailed off looking over at Willow. “Think we can make room for two more?” 

“We’ll have to camp out in the tv room, but it could work!” said Willow with a smile. A week ago Willow and Luz might have been hesitant, but they had gotten to know Boscha and Skara a little better over the course of the book festival. 

Luz took out her phone and sent a text to her moms, wanting to double check with them to make sure it was okay for all of them to sleep over at the apartment. Both of her moms would be busy, so Luz didn’t expect an answer right away. She relayed this to Boscha and Skara. 

“It should be okay if we all camp out in the tv room, like Willow said,” Luz told them. “I’ll update you guys when I get an answer from my moms.” 

It turned out that her moms were okay so plans were made in the group chat Luz had made for all of them. Since Gus was a part of it, he asked if he could come to the sleepover but Luz explained that her moms would never let a teenage boy sleepover in a house full of girls. Gus understood and wished them a good time. 

Amity was able to make it sound like she was sleeping over at Boscha’s when she asked her parents about it, and they agreed. Halloween was luckily on a Saturday so everyone was able to easily pack an overnight bag and meet the Nocedas at their apartment in the afternoon. 

They started off the sleepover with watching The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix. Since all of them had already watched the series earlier that month, they decided to just watch their favorite episodes; plus Luz wanted to play some party games later that night too. At one point Camilia and Eda allowed the girls to order pizza and they ate while watching the last few episodes of Bly Manor. 

At around 10pm they had just watched the last episode of Bly Manor and Eda and Camilia had already gone to bed. 

“You know what we should do now?” Boscha asked, grinning at the rest of them. “Truth or dare!” 

Amity gave Boscha a bemused smile and asked, “Don’t you think we’re a bit old for that?” 

Boscha looked at Amity with a sly grin. “Well we could play spin the bottle instead,” she said with a wink. 

“Truth or dare sounds great!” Amity decided before Willow or Luz could speak, not wanting to risk that territory. Then she looked at them and asked, “If you guys are up for it, that is?” 

“Let’s do it!” Luz said enthusiastically. 

Willow nodded her assent and said, “I’ll grab us some drinks.” She quickly got drinks and some snacks for everyone and then they started the game. “Since this is Luz’s house, she should start,” Willow suggested. 

“Hmm okay…” Luz thought for a moment. Then she pointed at Skara and said, “I dare you to put on makeup without using a mirror!” 

Skara giggled and shook her head. “You gotta say ‘truth or dare’, silly!” 

Luz huffed but knew Skara was right. “Okay fine, truth or dare?” she posed the question to Skara. 

“Hmm...I’m going to go with truth. You’d be surprised at how good I am at putting on makeup without a mirror,” Skara decided. 

“What!? I want to see that!” Luz protested. “Please?”

“Maybe later, but rules are rules,” Skara said firmly. “Give me a truth to tell.”

“Alright…” Luz came up with one and asked, “Who’s your celebrity crush?” 

“Probably Hugh Jackman,” Skara answered. “I love him as Wolverine.” 

“I can confirm this,” Amity spoke up with a knowing smile. “She’s watched the X-Men movies more times than I can count.” 

Boscha and Amity giggled while Skara just blushed. Now it was Skara’s turn, and she looked around at the other four girls. 

“Okay...Boscha! Truth or dare?” Skara asked, picking Boscha as her target. 

“A dare!” Boscha chose with a confident grin. 

Skara giggled at her friend and a devious look flashed through her eyes. “I want you to try putting on makeup without a mirror,” Skara dared Boscha. “And then post it on your blog.” 

“Hey that was my idea!” Luz exclaimed. 

“It’s a good one, and I want Boscha to do it!” Skara insisted. 

“Alright, fine, lemme grab my make up kit,” Boscha said albeit reluctantly. 

About 10 minutes later, Boscha’s face was comically covered in lipstick and smeared eyeliner. Her eye was a bit red from poking it so many times with the mascara. She scowled miserably at Skara. 

“Do I really have to post a picture on my blog?” she asked. 

“Hey Skara, this should be a fun game, maybe we shouldn’t push Boscha if she doesn’t want to?” Willow suggested, a little concerned about her. 

“Listen to the nerd, Skara,” Boscha said. “I’m not doing it!” When she said the word nerd, there was no malice behind her words as Boscha was trying to make an effort to get along with Amity’s friends. 

Skara thought Willow had a point and agreed that Boscha didn’t have to do it. Now it was Boscha’s turn to pick someone. 

Boscha pointed at Willow and asked, “Okay nerd, truth or dare?” 

“Truth!” Willow said after a moment of thought. 

“Cast of Bly Manor, Fuck, Marry, Kill!” Boscha challenged her. 

“Ooh,” Willow took her time thinking this one through. Then she said, “I would probably um...sleep with Owen, marry Dani, and kill Peter...again. Even though he’s already dead!” 

Boscha sniggered at Willow and asked, “Can’t you say the word ‘fuck’?” 

Willow frowned at Boscha and shook her head. “I don’t like that word!” 

Boscha stared at her for a moment then broke into a laugh, but not unkindly. “Alright cutie. Good choices, it’s your turn now.” Amity raised a brow at Boscha’s nickname for Willow and decided to ask her about it later. 

Willow’s cheeks turned pink at being called a cutie and she tried to focus on who she would pick. It was either Luz or Amity, so Willow decided to go with Luz. 

“Okay Luz, truth or dare?” Willow asked her friend. 

“Hmm...dare!” Luz was feeling brave tonight. 

Willow picked up on this and decided she would see how far Luz would go. “Okay, I dare you to kiss the cutest girl in this room,” Willow said with a mischievous grin. 

Luz’s entire face felt warm as she realized what Willow was asking. She was really testing her, huh? Luz took a drink of her soda as if it were liquid courage, and then took a deep breath. 

“Okay then.” Luz turned and her eyes landed on Amity, who was watching her nervously. Honestly, Luz did think Amity was the cutest girl in the room. She just hoped this wouldn’t make things weird between them. It was only a dare, after all. “Um...this doesn’t mean anything okay,” Luz told her before leaning in towards Amity’s face.

Amity’s heart sped up rapidly as Luz came closer and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. It took everything Amity had to not faint right there. She couldn’t stop herself from blushing a deep crimson, and tried to remain calm as Luz returned to a sitting position. 

Luz had said it didn’t mean anything, and Amity tried not to take those words to heart. It was just a silly dare! And she and Luz were friends, yet Luz had looked pretty nervous when she went in for the kiss. Her heart was still racing too, and Amity took a few breaths to calm herself down. 

“Uh, Amity? Are you okay? I’m sorry if that was weird...I won’t do it again!” Luz felt bad for making Amity freak out so much. 

“No no it’s fine! I didn’t mind that at all!” Amity assured her. “That is I mean it’s just a dare, like you said. It doesn’t mean anything!” 

“Right, exactly!” said Luz, relieved that Amity understood. 

“Right!” 

Someone coughed, reminding the two that they weren’t alone in the room. Boscha was smirking at the two of them while Willow and Skara shared a bemused smile.    
  
“Right, uh Amity, it’s your turn!” Luz said, trying to get them back on track. 

Amity really wanted to go outside and get some air instead of playing the game. However she didn’t want to turn this into an awkward night. So she calmed her nerves and fixed her gaze on Boscha, an idea coming to mind. She knew Boscha would pick truth or dare, so Amity asked her which one she wanted. 

“Dare!” Boscha said, ever the daredevil. 

“Well...I have a dare,” Amity began. “But I think we could all take part in it. What do you girls say to us going and egging Matthew Mulligan’s house?” 

Luz gaped at Amity, impressed with the idea. Boscha grinned devilishly and nodded, “I’m in!” 

Willow also decided this was a good idea and said, “I wouldn’t mind doing that at all.” 

Amity was secretly relieved that everyone seemed to have moved on from what had to have been the most awkward kiss in her entire life. 

“We’ll have to be sneaky, and I don’t want to wake up your moms,” Amity said to Luz. “We can stop by the gas station and get a few cartons and I can drive us there.” 

“Do you know where Matt lives though?” Luz asked, tilting her head at Amity. 

“I do!” Willow spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “He gets off the bus before I do, over on Belos Street. Do you know where that is?” Willow directed the question to Amity. 

“Yeah I do!” Amity replied, smiling. “Let’s do this!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:   
> ¿Por qué no puedo dejar de pensar en ello? - Why can't I stop thinking about it? 
> 
> \---
> 
> Aaaa, the egging will be in the next chapter. I'm not gonna deprive you guys of that. 
> 
> Also I have a question for all of my readers: I would like to put in something about Luz doing something with Dia de Los Muertos with her moms, and was hoping Amity might be able to join her for some Lumity moments. However I don't know much about it and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what actually happens and how you participate in it, and if white people can even participate in such a day. If I can write it, I want to be sure I'm being respectful and doing it accurately. If not I will just say something in passing to avoid offending anyone. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls mess with Matt's car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prank time! Ok so there's a bunch of legal stuff and blah blah with egging since it's vandalism and all so I decided to have them do annoyingly inconvenient pranks instead. I hope you guys like this chapter!

The girls successfully snuck out of the apartment and they all piled into Amity’s car. Once they did, Willow spoke up.  
  
“Listen, I’m all for doing something to mess with Matt, but is it possible we can do something harmless and maybe not illegal?” Willow suggested. 

Luz agreed that something non illegal would be nice, but she still wanted to do something. “Well then let’s think of something harmless we can do but still incredibly annoying for Matt.” 

“We could use Rain-X to write something on Matt’s car! They might have some at the convenience store,” Skara suggested. “It’ll wash off in the rain too.” 

“Mm that’s a good one but we should do something more!” Boscha said. She could understand why Willow might not want to break the law, but she still wanted to mess with Matt really badly. 

Amity took out her phone and went to google for ideas. She found a few and suggested it to the others, “Another one we can do is get a bunch of ziploc bags and connect the zip ties to the bottom of the car, probably with tape or something.” 

Boscha took out her own phone, thinking of something herself. She went on the school’s blog and took a look at Matt’s profile. She did a little bit more digging hoping to find something on Matt’s parents. She found his dad’s profile on Facebook and scrolled through the pictures to check for pictures of Matt. Once she verified it was his dad, she took a look at the contact info and grinned. 

“Guys, we can also use his dad’s number to make it look like the car is for sale, but we use Matt’s name instead of his dad’s!” Boscha said, showing the phone to everyone. 

“Oh that’s genius!” Luz exclaimed. “Let’s do it! I assume we just need pictures of the car and the license plate for that?” 

Boscha nodded and Amity said, “Do you guys still want to do the Rain-X thing too?” 

Everyone agreed that they should use all those ideas and Amity finally pulled the car away from the curb. After stopping at the all-night convenience store, Willow guided Amity to Matt’s house. They made sure to park a block away and walked down the street to where Matt’s apartment was. 

Luckily the streets were quiet, as it was late enough that no one was out trick or treating anymore. The lights in Matt’s apartment were all off telling the group that the inhabitants were all asleep. They casually approached the car in Matt’s driveway and crowded around Boscha, so no one could see her slip underneath the car with the cut off zip ties. It was her dare after all.

The other four girls were trying to look casual and in conversation while they tried to conceal Boscha from view as much as possible. Boscha took the bottle of Rain-X from Amity and wrote “This car is now gay” on the rear window. Then Boscha took pictures of the car and then placed a “For Sale” sign on the rear bumper of the car, being careful to be gentle as to not set off the car alarm. Luz had bought some twinkies at the convenience store and unwrapped them before shoving them all into the tailpipe of the car. Once she was done, the five of them hurried back to their own car and returned to Luz’s apartment. 

Safely back in the tv room, they congratulated Boscha on a job well done. 

“Now we need to make a post on craigslist and put Matt’s name on it,” Amity said. 

Boscha had brought her laptop as well and she retrieved it from her suitcase, opening it up. Everyone took part in giving exaggerated descriptions of the car and posted the ad. Now they only needed to wait for the aftermath. 

“Well, we can’t really know anything until Monday,” Boscha said with a small frown. “But Amity, that was a genius idea!” 

Amity beamed at her friend and the girls chatted until exhaustion caught up with all of them. In the morning, Eda and Camilia made pancakes and bacon before the girls went home. Amity stayed behind with Luz, not wanting to go home yet. 

“So what did you kids get up to last night?” Eda asked Amity and Luz, who were still lingering in the kitchen. Camilia dried her hands off with a towel; having just washed the dishes. She turned and listened for the girls’ response. 

Amity’s mind immediately went to the kiss that happened the night before and her cheeks colored a bit. She quickly answered, trying to cover up her emotions. 

“Oh you know, just normal teenager stuff!” Amity said with a nervous smile. “We watched Netflix, played a couple party games, talked about girls, that kinda stuff.” 

Luz noticed the way Amity’s cheeks were going redder as she spoke and frowned, concerned about her friend. “Amity, are you feeling okay? Your face is kinda red.”

“Wh-what?” Amity was caught off guard. “I’m fine! It’s just uh, really warm in here!” 

Eda was slightly suspicious of Amity’s behavior but decided not to push the issue. It wasn’t her business anyway. Camilia noticed Amity’s strange behavior too and wondered if it was connected to Eda’s theory of what really happened last night.

“I can turn the heat down,” Eda said, walking over to the thermostat. She adjusted the temperature and returned to the table where Amity gave her a grateful smile. “That better?” 

Yep!” Amity said, gladly taking the excuse for her red face. 

“So where did you guys go last night?” Eda asked, looking between the two of them. 

“Huh?” Luz feigned ignorance and Amity did the same. 

“What do you mean? We didn’t go anywhere,” Amity said in a confused tone of voice. 

Eda rolled her eyes at the two teenagers. “Cut the bullshit, I know you went somewhere. We just want to know you didn’t get yourselves in trouble.”

Camilia shot a glare at Eda and admonished her, “ _Vigila esa lengua!”_ Then she returned her focus to Luz and Amity, giving both of them a stern look. “Tell us the truth now, please.” 

Luz sighed, knowing when she was beat. _Más lista que un zorro,_ she thought. 

“We did go out, but we won’t be the ones getting in trouble!” Luz explained with a proud grin. “We got a little revenge against Matt, the kid who decided to hack Amity’s blog a little while ago.” 

Amity was impressed Luz didn’t bother to hide anything from either one of her moms. Then she figured that Eda would be able to tell if Luz was lying, since they had apparently already been caught sneaking out in the first place.

Camilia was aware of the incident Luz was talking about, and was just as relieved as Eda that the two were still friends. Still, she had hoped that would be the end of their issues with the boy, but it seemed now that was not the case. 

Camilia raised an eyebrow at her daughter, folding her arms. “You won’t be getting in trouble, you say?” she asked, but not waiting for an answer. Anger rose in her voice as she spoke, “Podrías haber salido herida, o peor! I have half a mind to ground you, jovencita!” 

“ _Por favor no me castigues!_ ” Luz protested. 

Amity was only getting maybe half of the conversation, but she knew it wasn’t good. “Ms Noceda-” 

“Camilia, please,” she corrected Amity. 

“Camilia, we didn’t do anything illegal, we promise. We only did harmless pranks!” Amity tried to calm Luz’s worried mother. 

Eda seemed to relax but Camilia did not. Eda put a hand on her fiance’s shoulder and said, “I doubt our daughter would actually do anything illegal, babe. If they said they only did harmless pranks, I think we should believe them.” 

Camilia let out a soft sigh, meeting Eda’s eyes. Eda did have a point, and the girls were all safe and sound too.

“Fine, I do hate it when you’re right mi amor,” Camilia said to Eda. 

Eda grinned and gave her fiance a kiss on the cheek. “You love it!”

Luz pretended to be all grossed out and Amity smiled at the heartwarming exchange. Luz sagged her shoulders in relief, glad to have avoided punishment. She didn’t plan on doing it again however since she knew she’d be grounded if she did. 

“Alright kiddo,” Eda said to Amity. “You should probably head home. I’m not kicking you out, but I don’t want your parents to worry.” 

Amity nodded in understanding. She figured it was probably a good idea for her to go home at this time anyway, since her parents would surely be expecting her back. Luz helped Amity pack up all of her stuff and load up her car. With a promise to text each other later, Luz watched Amity drive away down the street before heading back into her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> Vigila esa lengua- watch that tongue! 
> 
> Mas lista que un zorro- Smarter than a fox
> 
> Podrías haber salido herida, o peor- You could have gotten hurt, or worse!
> 
> Jovencita- Young lady
> 
> Por favor no me castigues!- Please don't ground me!
> 
> -
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter! Next chapter we will see a grumpy Matt being miserable and well probably some more fluff or plot development. It might take more than a day for me to post the next chapter but we will see! 
> 
> Thanks for reading as always! And remember I love comments <3 
> 
> PS. I decided to forgo the mexican holiday thing since Luz and her mom are Dominican and wouldn't really celebrate it. Thank you to everyone who informed me on it!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and co. go on a field trip! Things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Sorry this took so long. I had a bit of trouble. I promise there will be more chapters posted this week. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and remember, I love comments!!

On the Monday following Halloween, Matt was clearly in a mood. He was meaner and aggressive towards the younger students at Hexside, and seemed to be taking his anger out on everyone around him. Gus was in the same year as Matt and shared a few classes with him, so he informed Amity and her friends of what was going on in their group chat. 

The girls had told Gus about their pranks on Matt so Gus knew this was obviously related to that. Unfortunately, being in the same classes as Matt meant Gus was once again one of his targets. Matt had bullied him a lot during their years in middle school and Gus was relieved when at first, Matt didn’t seem to be attending Hexside. However, now that he was, Gus was back on the list of Matt’s targets. 

Most of the torment occurred in class since other times Gus could hide in the computer lab or the library. The girls were sympathetic and offered to let Gus hang out with them after school, which he happily accepted. 

One day after school Gus joined Luz, Amity, and Willow at the Owl House Cafe. Gus pulled a small stack of papers out of his backpack, showing the topmost one to the girls. 

“There’s a field trip happening on the day before Thanksgiving break! Professor Lauderman is leading it, you guys should sign up!” Gus said excitedly. “Juniors and Seniors who are in any of his classes are allowed to sign up as long as they have maintained at least a B in his classes so far. A max of 28 students are allowed to attend so we should sign up fast!” 

“Oh the Earth Science teacher?” Luz recognized the name and smiled. “He’s a cool teacher, and not just because he covered for me a few weeks ago. I’m guessing it’s Earth Science related then?” 

Gus gave his confirmation and motioned for Luz to look at the paper explaining the field trip. Students who signed up would be going to the Pacific Science Center, as well as the Space Needle. If students completed the packet and handed it in at the end of the field trip, they would get 100 points extra credit.

“I’ll definitely sign up for this!” Luz said, already making up her mind. 

“I think I will too,” Willow said, taking one of the forms for herself.

Amity did as well and knew her parents would want her to go for anything that gave her extra credit. This would also be a good chance for her to spend time with Luz and her friends without having to worry about a certain Dulligan bothering them all day. The four of them wished each other luck on making the list and agreed to be a group if possible. 

The museum was an hour and a half away, so students needed to be at the school’s parking lot by 7:45 at the latest since the field trip bus would be leaving at 8am sharp. Amity drove herself to school and found Luz and Willow in the small crowd of students when she arrived. Along with Professor Lauderman were two other science teachers, Professor Ostertag and Professor Wan. 

“Amity! Guess what, we can all be in the same group! Gus too as soon as he gets here,” Luz excitedly told Amity. “This is gonna be fun!” 

Amity agreed and said, “It’s been forever since I was on a field trip! Last one I went on was Freshman year, I think.” 

“We get a little more freedom this time around, though!” Willow pointed out. “After we watch the short presentation on the big bang theory, we’ll be able to go and explore on our own!” 

The three of them started talking about where they should go first until Gus joined them about five minutes later. Soon the bus finally arrived and everyone boarded. Amity and Luz got in one seat while Willow and Gus got the seat behind them. After Professor Lauderman explained the day’s plan to everyone, they were finally off to the Pacific Science Center. 

Luz’s group stuck together as they got off the bus and attended the short presentation in the Center’s theatre. Then they joined the two other groups who were all being chaperoned by Professor Lauderman. The other professors each had their own set of groups and for Luz’s group, Professor Lauderman would be taking them to the Space Needle first. 

They followed Professor Lauderman out of the Science Center and down the street towards the Space Needle. Lauderman informed everyone that they could spend about an hour here before they needed to return to the Science Center and start on their field trip packets and so other groups could come have their turn experiencing the Space Needle. 

Luz and co. went right to the elevator that would take them to the top of the Space Needle. The Science department at Hexside had covered expenses for the trip so students could just head into the Space Needle as long as they had their student IDs with them. Once at the top, they went into the lower level first where the Loupe was. 

“This is the world’s first and only rotating glass floor!” Willow exclaimed as they all took a moment to adjust their balance. “It’s sort of like a ride!”

Luz nodded in agreement and the four of them took a look around. The Loupe was also a bar of sorts and tables were scattered around the lounge. A tall, serious looking man approached the four and said, “Apologies but this area is only for people 21 and over. You may however continue up to the upper level where you can enjoy the view to the fullest.” 

“Aw alright,” Luz was disappointed that she couldn’t enjoy the view while standing on a rotating floor, but she also didn’t want to get in trouble with Professor Lauderman. The others had similar thoughts and they retreated back into the elevator, going up to the topmost level. 

They headed towards the ceiling to floor windows when Amity noticed a door to the outer deck. “Hey let’s go outside on the deck,” Amity suggested, drawing their attention. 

“Oh yeah!” Luz beamed and changed her path to walk out the door. Once outside, they found a not so crowded spot to stand in and enjoy the view. 

“This is amazing!” said Gus. “Do you guys want some interesting facts on how they built this thing? I actually read a lot about it…” He started giving them a long story about how the Needle was built and the girls listened for the most part. 

About two minutes into the story, Willow noticed Luz was starting to lose interest and Amity didn’t seem to be listening at all. Amity was remembering why she had bullied Gus in the first place; having always shot him down whenever he started talking about something that bored her. She was trying not to say anything now, however, because she didn’t want to hurt the boy’s feelings. 

Willow decided to change the subject to something more interesting and gently cut off Gus, asking, “How did the Space Needle come by its name?” 

Gus was a little disappointed that Willow wanted to change the subject, but was glad it was still related to the Space Needle. He happily replied, “The person who first came up with the concept wanted to build a “Space Age” tower as a symbol for Seattle and the 1962 world fair!” 

“Ooh! I didn’t know that!” Luz said, impressed. “Is that why the top looks like a UFO?” 

Gus nodded in response. “Yeah, and Buzz Aldrin visited back in 2012 to commemorate the Space Needle’s 50th anniversary!” 

“Wow Gus, you sure know a lot about this stuff! That’s really cool,” Luz said genuinely. “Do you want to be an astronaut or something?” 

“Well I’d like to major in Astronautics or something like that, so kind of, yes?” Gus said after a moment. “It’s really fascinating stuff!” 

“I guess we’re science buddies then!” Willow said to Gus. “I want to major in Biology!” 

“Science buddies it is then!” said Gus, holding up his hand for a high five.

Willow giggled and returned the high five before looking at Luz and Amity. “I know Luz wants to be an artist, but what about you Amity?” 

“Me?” Amity should have expected this question since she was their friend now, but for some reason it still caught her off guard. Willow nodded and looked at Amity expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

“I want to go into Business, or Library Science. I want to run my own bookstore someday,” Amity explained. 

“So that’s why you’re working at one now!” Luz concluded, smiling at Amity. 

Amity beamed at Luz and said, “Exactly! The more experience under my belt, the more prepared I’ll be for starting up a small bookstore.” 

A swell of pride rose in Luz’s chest for her friend and she was happy to see that Amity had a dream of her own. She only hoped she wouldn’t get left behind and forgotten. Luz really enjoyed being Amity’s friend and the green haired girl now had a special place in her heart. Luz was pretty sure that was because Amity was her friend, it was the only reason she could think of. 

The group returned their attention to the view outside and Luz found her eyes lingering on Amity. The sun was pretty high in the sky right now and the light was hitting Amity in a way that highlighted her features. A weird feeling formed in Luz’s chest as she noticed how pretty Amity looked in the light, but she told herself she was just appreciating the girl’s good looks. That was the most reasonable explanation after all. Still, there was something about Amity that drew Luz to her, like a moth to a flame. She didn’t understand it and tore her eyes away from the girl before Amity noticed she was staring. 

Willow had noticed however and she gave Luz an odd look before deciding to leave it alone for now. It was probably nothing. They were just all enjoying each other’s company right now. Eventually it was time for them to return to the lobby where Professor Lauderman was waiting for them. Once the other groups joined them, Lauderman led them all back to the Science Center. 

Luz’s group got to work on completing their packets and got caught up in some of the interactive exhibits. They took pictures next to several of the large models in various locations around the center and had a good time. At 3pm, it was time to return to school and Luz’s group made sure to hand their packets to Professor Lauderman once they got back. 

The memory of Amity standing in the sunlight at the top of the Space Needle stayed on Luz’s mind, and she didn’t know why. She didn’t exactly mind either, for it was certainly a nice memory. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the start of the Holiday season!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am actually AHEAD for once. Two chapters ahead, including this one. Anyway I hope y'all enjoy :D I'll post the next chapter tomorrow

Thanksgiving for the Blights was a business affair. Every Thanksgiving, the Blight parents would host a big dinner party at the manor for their business friends and it was strictly adults only. The Blight children were not allowed to join the adults at the table, rather having their dinner in another room and simply staying out of the adults’ business. 

Edric and Emira were off at college this year, and they were not planning on coming to Thanksgiving. So Amity would be all alone. She avoided thinking about this fact as she went to work on the day before Thanksgiving. Her mood was a little sour but she did her best to be polite when interacting with customers. 

Lilith picked up on Amity’s rather negative mood and approached her during her lunch break at 1pm. Amity was nibbling on a sandwich she had made herself and fiddling around on her phone. Lilith’s worries grew and she took a seat at the table next to Amity. 

“Amity, are you feeling alright?” Lilith asked, drawing her employee’s attention away from her phone. 

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine,” Amity said in a quiet voice. 

Lilith offered her a sympathetic smile and said, “You know you can talk to me about anything that’s bothering you. And I am a little concerned as you don’t seem to be at your best today.” 

“O-oh...sorry,” Amity apologized, shame creeping up over her. “I’m just...just not looking forward to tomorrow.” 

Lilith tilted her head curiously at Amity and asked, “What do you mean? Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, which means you’ll get to spend time with your family right?” 

Amity shook her head, giving Lilith a grim look. “No. My siblings are in college this year and my parents just use Thanksgiving to host a business party. I’m supposed to keep my head down and stay out of their way.” 

Lilith’s heart ached at the bitterness in the child’s voice and she immediately made a decision. “Well how about you join me at the Nocedas’ for Thanksgiving? I know Luz would love to have you there and I’m sure my sister and Camilia wouldn’t mind.” 

Amity was once again blown away by this family’s kindness. She wanted to refuse, but at the same time, she really wanted a chance to have a real Thanksgiving dinner with a family that actually cared about her. 

She smiled warmly at Lilith, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to spill. “I would love that. Thank you Ms. Clawthorne.”

“Lilith, please,” said her boss with a warm smile. “You’re family now, as Camilia would say.” 

Amity nodded in understanding. “Right. Thank you Lilith,” she repeated, saying the woman’s first name this time. 

Lilith told her to come to the apartment at Noon, and so Amity told her parents she was making a trip to see her siblings in their college town in central Washington for Thanksgiving. Her parents of course didn’t mind since that meant Amity wouldn’t be around to bother them during dinner. 

Amity got to the Nocedas a little bit past Noon and allowed herself a happy dance in the car when she parked. Then she got out and headed up to their front door when her nerves finally got to her. Her palms started feeling sweaty and her heartbeat quickened as she started to think that maybe this was a mistake and that Lilith hadn’t actually been serious when inviting her. But then the door opened and Camilia was there, smiling kindly at her. 

“Amity! I’m so glad you could make it, please come in!” She stepped aside to let the teen in and Amity took a few deep calming breaths before nodding and walking inside. 

“Thank you Ms-I mean, Camilia. You look nice today!” Amity said, trying to calm her nerves. 

Camilia wore a navy blue dress and black heels, and her engagement ring shone brightly on her finger. The older woman blushed at the compliment and smiled at Amity. 

“So polite, as always. Head into the TV room, Luz and her  _ abuelita  _ are already in there.” 

Amity did know enough Spanish to know that meant grandmother, and her nerves rose up in her throat. There was a new family member she had to impress now! 

_ You got this Blight, Camilia and Eda already love you. What’s one more family member, right?  _ Amity told herself. 

Amity steeled herself and walked into the TV room, immediately looking for Luz as she entered. Luz was seated on the couch next to a much older looking woman with kind brown eyes. Her hair was short and poofy, in an afro style. 

Luz saw her approaching and a smile broke across her face. “Abuelita! This is my friend, Amity!” she said excitedly to her grandmother. “Amity, this is my abuela!” 

Yliana Noceda didn’t often speak English, but she knew enough to be able to communicate with Luz’s English-speaking friends. “You are a lovely girl, it is nice to meet you!” 

“You as well ma’am!” Amity said brightly. She took a seat next to Luz and smiled nervously. 

The old woman shook her head at Amity and said, “Ma’am makes me sound old! Yliana is fine.” 

“Okay, Yliana,” Amity said, trying out the woman’s name. “So what were you two talking about before I came in?” Amity tried to make conversation. 

“I was telling abuelita about the book festival we went to a little while ago,” Luz replied. “My abuela is very into poetry and wanted to know if there were any good poets at the festival.” 

“Poetry? That’s cool!” Amity looked over at Yliana and said, “There were a couple of poetry readings happening when I attended. I admit I didn’t listen to any, so I can’t say much else. I’m sorry.” 

“It is fine, do not worry,” Yliana assured her. “I am glad to know Luz has another friend to take to the festival with her.” 

“The festival was a lot of fun, and I like hanging out with Luz,” said Amity truthfully, glad to see Yliana seemed to like her. 

Then Yliana spoke in Spanish to Luz, “ _ Esta chica es muy guapa, no lo crees _ ?” 

She gave Luz a conspiratorial wink, making the younger girl blush when she caught Yliana’s meaning. 

“Abuelita, please!” Luz cried, her cheeks coloring. At least Amity couldn’t understand that. Still, she turned to a confused Amity and said, “My abuelita thinks she is funny, that’s all!”

Yliana gave Amity a wink as well and said, “This is true, I’m afraid. I enjoy a good laugh.” 

Amity figured that it had been a joke Yliana just told Luz in Spanish and said, “You must have a great sense of humor then!” 

“Mm, yes I suppose I do,” said Yliana. “Tell me girl, what is the difference between glue, a piano, and a tuna?” 

Amity tried to think what Yliana might mean, but came up with nothing. “I don’t know, what’s the difference?” she asked. 

“You can tuna piano, but you can’t piano a tuna.” Yliana said brightly. 

“What about the glue?” Amity asked, noticing she hadn’t mentioned that. 

Yliana grinned and said, “I knew you’d get stuck on that.” 

It took a moment but Amity soon got the joke and she broke into a laugh. “Oh wow, that was a good one!” Amity said, her nerves long forgotten now.

Eda walked into the room and grinned when she saw Amity. “Hey kid, glad you could join us! Food’s almost ready. Camilia wanted me to tell you all to go wash your hands then come to the table.” 

“Ok!” Luz stood up and said, “I’ll go first.”    
  
About ten minutes later, everyone was gathered around the table and Amity’s eyes were wide with wonder. So this is what a real family Thanksgiving looked like. The atmosphere was so much warmer than the coldness of the Blight Manor, and everyone was in good spirits. 

“Here Amity, pick up your plate!” Luz said from next to her, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Abuelita’s going to fill you up.” 

Amity picked up her plate and handed it across the table to Yliana who put a large serving of food on her plate, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, stuffing, gravy, and a few other food items. Amity was surprised by the weight of the plate when she got it back and carefully set it down in front of her. The food was hot and smelled delicious. 

Luz leaned over and whispered, “Eat as much as you want, but don’t push yourself. And abuelita won’t be offended if you tell her you’re full.” 

Amity was relieved at the last part of Luz’s statement and nodded before digging into her food. She got to know Luz’s grandma a little better, learning that Yliana lived in the Dominican Republic but usually visited her daughter and her family on holidays. In return Amity told Yliana a little bit about herself and explained why she was there instead of with her family. 

When Amity finished, Camilia suggested, “You’re welcome to join us for Christmas and New Year’s too if you want!” 

Amity noticed there was pity in Camilia’s eyes and in Yliana’s as well. Her ears burned in shame as she hated getting pitiful looks from people. 

“Thank you, but I’ve already intruded on your Thanksgiving dinner. I couldn’t intrude on Christmas as well,” Amity declined politely. 

Camilia was a little disappointed but she had wanted to offer anyway. “I understand, but know that the offer is still there if you change your mind!” 

Amity smiled gratefully at Camilia and felt Luz nudge her gently in the side. 

“Willow and I usually like to have our own little party after Christmas, you can come hang out with us then if you want!” Luz offered Amity. 

“I can probably do that!” said Amity cheerfully.

“Now there is one other matter I’d like to discuss now that we are all here,” Camilia spoke again. “Eda and I will be having a small wedding ceremony during Luz’s spring break so that she and her friends may attend the wedding. I just wanted to extend my invitations now so we don’t have to worry about formal ones later.” 

“Well I definitely won’t be missing my sister’s wedding!” Lilith said with a soft smile, and Eda grinned back at her. 

“That sounds lovely! I will surely be there,” Yliana promised Camilia. “I want to see my beautiful daughter and future daughter in law on their special day.” 

Then Luz turned back to Amity and said, “I have a feeling your parents won’t want you going, but the wedding’s going to be small. It’s actually going to be at the Owl House Cafe, and I don’t think that’s anywhere near your house. They would never know!” 

Amity’s heart burst with happiness at the sound of that. She could actually attend the wedding, and Luz was right! Her parents would never question Amity buying a very nice dress as that was what they expected of her if they wanted her to be a socialite. Edric and Emira could cover for her as well. That brought something else to mind. 

“Camilia, would it be alright if my siblings attended as well? They would like the opportunity to get away from our parents as well, but I understand if they can’t,” Amity asked, thinking of the twins. 

“Oh those lovely people we met at Pride?” Camilia knew who Amity was talking about and smiled. “Of course, that is fine with me! I wasn’t sure who else to invite besides my work friends and well, Eda and I would prefer a small wedding. A couple more guests won’t hurt!” 

Amity grinned and made a mental note to tell her siblings about this when she got home. “I’ll let them know, thanks Camilia!” Amity said happily. 

They continued to talk about plans for the wedding and Amity felt a sense of freedom that she hadn’t felt before. She would be an adult in a few months, but already she was finding opportunities to be free from her parents even sooner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: 
> 
> Esta chica es muy guapa, no lo crees- She is a very pretty girl, don't you think?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet the Blight Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little nervous about this chapter because of how I handled the Blight Parents. I hope you guys like this one and please let me know what you think of my writing of the Blights!

Semifinal exams were happening the last week before winter break, so Luz and her friends were hard at work preparing in the library every day after school. Exams went fairly well and they knew it was because of all their hard work. Amity was looking forward to break because her siblings would be returning home for almost two weeks. 

When she returned home on the last day before break started, she was greeted by the twins when she arrived at the manor. Amity let both of them envelop her into a hug before heading inside. As she walked past the study, she paused when she noticed her father was in there. 

Amity thought about Camilia’s offer to have her with the Nocedas for Christmas and New Year’s. She wondered if her father would be more willing than her mother to let her join the Nocedas. Her father had always been less strict than her mother but both were still rather cold towards her. Amity hesitated, and then made her decision to step into her father’s study. 

“Ahem...Father?” Amity approached her father’s desk, clasping her hands in front of her to keep them from trembling. “May I speak with you, please?”

Alador Blight looked up from his laptop and when he saw his daughter, turned in his chair to face her more directly. “Is it important?” He asked in a mildly annoyed tone. 

“Well, yes. At least to me it is. I’ve been invited to spend the holidays with a friend and her family, and…” Amity made sure to choose her words carefully. “I believe it is time for me to start acting like an adult as I will be one in just a few months. So I’d like to make my own decisions regarding my future activities and I wish to spend time with this friend and her family. I know we don’t really celebrate Christmas in this house, but I would really like to celebrate it with this friend.” 

Alador narrowed his eyes at his daughter, studying her carefully. “And who is this friend of yours?” He asked, his words carefully measured. 

Amity swallowed but stayed strong. “Luz Noceda,” Amity replied. “But her family is a good family! Her mother is a doctor and Luz is one of the top students at school.” She was careful to leave out the fact that Luz had two mothers and hoped Alador wouldn’t ask about a father. 

“I see…” Alador hummed in thought. “You know we Blights only associate with a select few, including the brightest minds we can find,” said Alador. “I do recall you mentioning a Luz Noceda a few times last year, but I also recall something a little bit more recent.” He gestured to his laptop and said, “Regarding that...blog post about her being...one of  _ those _ types.” 

Amity tried not to wince. She had nearly forgotten about that and hoped her father had too. Clearly that was not the case. Then she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see her mother entering the room. Odalia Blight cast a sparse glance at Amity before turning her attention to her husband. 

“What might we be talking about in here, hmm?” she asked, eyes flickering between Alador and Amity. 

“Our daughter has informed me that she would like to spend the holidays with a friend of hers. While she claims the friend is an upstanding student, she was involved in a recent and questionable blog post our daughter supposedly did not write,” Alador explained to his wife. 

“I told you, I was hacked!” Amity cried, upset that her parents were still ignoring this fact. Then she realized she had raised her voice and gasped, eyes widening in fear. “I-I mean...I just wanted to remind you that I was hacked...I’m sorry.” 

Odalia trained her icy gaze on Amity and said, “You should be careful not to raise your voice with us dear. That is not the way a lady behaves.” 

“I’m sorry…” Amity repeated, lowering her head. 

“Before you say anything, Odalia, I would like to mention that Amity expressed her desire to begin making her own decisions. I do think our daughter is old enough now to know what is best for her,” Alador said to Odalia. “I think it’s time we began to trust her a little more. She’s done so well up to this point.” 

Amity couldn’t believe it. Her father was saying yes, by the sound of it. But ultimately Alador and Odalia Blight were a team, and they tended to make decisions together. Her mother’s word would weigh a lot on their final decision. 

“I still have some concerns, dear,” Odalia said to Alador. “I am concerned that a girl with such questionable behavior may lead Amity off the right path. Even if our daughter insists her account was hacked, who’s to say the hacker wasn’t telling the truth?” 

That was it, Amity just knew it. Then Alador spoke again, “We won’t be able to legally dictate everything she does for much longer. She must learn how to make decisions on her own.” 

Now that was an excellent point, and Odalia knew it. “Hm, very well. You are correct that she won’t always be able to rely on us.” 

Odalia turned to her daughter, staring down at her with a neutral expression. “You may spend time with your friend for the holidays. It will be a learning experience for you.” 

Amity kept herself from sighing in relief. She offered her parents a small smile and said, “Thank you very much mother, father.”

“Leave us now, dear. I have other matters to discuss with your father,” Odalia said, already turning to face her husband. 

Amity knew she should just leave before her parents changed her mind, so she quickly walked out of the room. She found her siblings in the kitchen and allowed herself to finally relax a little. Then she smiled, and let out a little squeal. 

“Guess what!” Amity said to the twins. “Mom and Dad are letting me spend the holidays with Luz!” 

Emira and Edric beamed at her. “That’s great, Mittens!” Edric exclaimed. 

“How did you convince them?” Emira asked. 

“I told them they couldn’t make decisions for me forever and I have to know how to make my own,” Amity replied. “It...it felt great, honestly. Being able to say that to them.” 

Emira walked over and hugged her sister tightly. “Well what do you think of going out for ice cream then? We can celebrate your newfound freedom!” 

Amity beamed at her sister and nodded. “I would love that.” 

+++

Luz was laying on her bed, having brought her laptop over from her desk. She knew it was a dangerous habit to be on her laptop while on her bed, but Luz was doing it anyway. A chime from her phone alerted Luz to a text from Amity. 

She grabbed it and unlocked the phone screen before opening her message thread with Amity. 

_ Amity: I have good news!!! _

_ Luz: :O what??? _

_ Amity: My parents said I could be with you for the holidays! _

Luz’s eyes widened and a large smile formed on her face. 

_ Luz: Wait...does that mean you’re staying over then??? _

_ Amity: Well I could, but only if it’s alright with you! _

_ Luz: Let me ask my mom! _

Luz hopped off the bed, ignoring the fact that her laptop was knocked off her lap in the process. It landed on the bed so it was fine. Luz hurried out of her room and to the kitchen where Eda was currently making some coffee. 

“Eda, Eda, Eda! Can Amity stay over for the holidays, as in spend a few nights? Maybe for the rest of winter break?” Luz asked, hoping Eda would say yes. 

Eda chuckled and shrugged. “Well it depends on what Camilia says but that should be fine. However, where’s Amity going to sleep?” 

Luz thought for a moment before saying, “She can have my bed! I can sleep on the couch, it’s no problem.” 

Eda smirked at her and teased, “You sure are being a gentlewoman for this girl, Luz.” 

Luz didn’t pick up on Eda’s hint and smiled. “Well I want her to be comfortable. I’ll let her know, thanks Eda!” 

Luz ran over and hugged Eda tightly, and the older woman returned the hug in kind. Then Luz returned to the conversation on her phone. 

_ Luz: My moms both say yes! You should come over tomorrow! _

_ Amity: Sounds like a plan, Luz.  _


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity has a nightmare on the first night at the Nocedas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Squeal* I am so excited about these next few chapters, I'm not gonna say much but EXPECT FLUFF AND SOME HUMOR :D

Amity came to stay with the Nocedas on December 21st, wanting to stay over as soon as she could. When she arrived at the apartment that afternoon, Luz was there to greet her at the door. She led Amity inside and the green haired girl followed Luz to her room. Luz explained Amity could just leave her suitcase in her room since she would be sleeping in there while Luz slept on the pull out couch. 

“Luz I don’t want to put you out of your bed. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch, really!” Amity protested. 

“But you’re a guest, it’s only right that I take the couch and you take the bed,” Luz insisted. 

“Okay but if you want your bed back, you’re allowed to kick me out. It is your bed after all,” said Amity, giving in.

“That’s fine,” said Luz with a smile because she knew she wouldn’t want the bed back. She wanted Amity to be comfortable after all. 

Amity put her suitcase on the floor at the foot of Luz’s bed and Luz asked, “Do you want to want to watch the Azura movie? I can also hook my laptop up to the TV and we can watch some fan-made animations on Youtube!” 

“Ooh, that sounds like a good idea!” Amity enthused. 

So the two of them left Luz’s room and headed into the TV room, Luz bringing her laptop with her. First she popped the Azura movie into the dvd player as the movie hadn’t been added to Netflix yet and they sat down together on the couch. 

“Oh! Let me get some popcorn,” Luz said realizing they were missing some very crucial snacks. “I’m also gonna get some chips and dip, if you want to eat some of those too.” 

Amity smiled and said, “Both sound perfect!” 

Luz grinned and stood up, going to the kitchen where Camilia was doing some cleaning while talking to Yliana who was seated at the kitchen table. Eda had a late shift at work and wouldn’t be home until about 8:30 so it was just the four of them. 

“Hey Mamá, hola abuelita!” Luz greeted them. “I’m gonna make some popcorn for me and Amity, we’re watching the Azura movie!” 

Camilia smiled warmly at her daughter and said, “That sounds fun! Be sure not to eat too much or you won’t have any room for dinner.” 

“No te preocupes, mamá, I know,” Luz assured her mother. Luz grabbed a packet of popcorn from the cabinet and popped it in the microwave, setting the timer before turning to face her mom and abuela. 

Luz noticed her abuela studying her closely and shifted awkwardly. “Something on your mind, abuelita?” Luz asked her. 

“Oh, just thinking. It’s interesting that you’re so fond of that girl now when half a year ago, you would often call me to tell me about how awful she was treating you.”    
  


Camilia paused, finding her mother’s statement a bit odd. She turned towards Yliana and gave her a questioning look. “Regardless of the past, Amity has proved to be a great friend to Luz. I’m not sure why that matters now, Mami.” 

“Oh no, it doesn’t,” Yliana clarified. “I just think it’s interesting how they’ve turned into the perfect pair, those two.” 

“Oh yeah, we’re getting along great now!” Luz said, seeing that her abuela was just commenting on their friendship. “I think I can consider her one of my best friends!” 

“Is that so?” Yliana wasn’t really asking a question but rather just speaking out loud. “Interesting.” 

Suddenly the microwave beeped loudly behind Luz’s head and she turned to shut it off. Luz grabbed a large popcorn bowl and started to empty out the packet while considering Yliana’s words. She wasn’t sure what her abuela meant, but Luz figured it wasn’t something to worry about. Luz grabbed a bag of chips and some dip as well before taking all the snacks into the TV room. 

Amity could see Luz was about to just drop on the couch next to her so she quickly reached for the bowl of popcorn, taking it out of Luz’s hands before the popcorn spilled everywhere. Luz plopped down on the seat and beamed at Amity, thanking her. They switched on the movie and munched on their snacks while commenting at various things throughout the movie. 

They decided since Eda was still at work until 8:30, they would just order some food and order something for Eda when she got home. They ordered a couple of pizzas and Amity and Luz started watching Youtube after their movie was over. Eda came in and joined the girls in the TV room, sitting on the armchair and eating the pizza Camilia had left over for her. 

Amity did have to work on the 22nd and the 23rd so at around 10:30, she decided it was best to go to bed. 

“I’m going to sleep. I want to be at my best for work tomorrow,” Amity said, standing up and stretching a little. “Want help setting up the pull out bed?”

“Sure!” said Luz. 

The two of them worked together to remove the couch cushions and pull out the folded bed within. Once Luz was set up, Amity bade her goodnight and headed to Luz’s room for bed. She changed into her pajamas and paused when she was about to lay down. 

_ Ok Blight, don’t make it weird. Luz is letting you sleep in her bed because you’re the guest, that’s all!  _ Amity told herself. 

She got under the covers and since she was in a new place, it took awhile for her to fall asleep. But eventually Amity did, and she started to dream. 

_ The room was pitch black, and Amity immediately knew where she was. It was the dark storage closet in her parents’ manor, the one they locked Amity in whenever she did something ‘unlady-like’ or simply wouldn’t obey them. Amity felt panic set in, and she struggled to maintain her breathing. _

_ Then a bright light shone on her face and Amity raised her hand to shield her eyes. Then she could hear the crisp voice of her mother, “Unbelievable. After all of my hard work, my daughter has turned out to be one of  _ them. _ A lesbian.”  _

_ Amity could hear her mother gagging when she said the word and rolled her eyes, knowing her mother was being dramatic.  _

_ Then a harsh voice belonging to her father spoke, “Don’t roll your eyes at us young lady! We did not raise you to associate with one of those sinners!”  _

_ “I-I’m sorry!” Amity tried to apologize, but for rolling her eyes. She would never apologize for being a lesbian. _

_ “And you’ve been lying to us too!” her mother spoke again, “traipsing around with that confused Noceda girl. You have disgraced us for the last time!”  _

_ What? They knew about Luz? They knew everything? But...how? Suddenly the air around her seemed much thinner and Amity could feel the walls closing in on her from all sides. Her breathing quickened and she let out a scream- _

Amity’s eyes shot open, heart beating rapidly inside her chest. She was sweating and saw that the room was still dark, which did nothing to calm her nerves. She leaped out of the bed, trying to remember where she was. She needed to find her siblings. Amity took a few steps to the left and bumped into a hard surface. What? 

Then Amity remembered: She was at Luz’s house, and her siblings were nowhere near. Amity swallowed thickly, her heartbeat returning to a normal pace. She was safe, but she didn’t want to be alone. Amity found herself walking to the TV room where Luz was still sound asleep. 

Amity hesitated as she approached the couch. She didn’t want to wake up Luz, but she couldn’t bear the thought of being alone right now. She decided she would just be as quiet and sneaky as possible and lay down, and make it seem like it was an accident or something in the morning. 

Amity carefully shifted the blanket and sat down on the bed, wincing when the mattress made a loud squeak. The dark shape that was Luz moved and Amity could see her opening her eyes in the dim moonlight coming from the nearby windows. 

“Amity?” Luz blinked sleepily and rubbed her eyes. She sat up and looked at her friend, feeling worried. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m sorry, I know this sounds so stupid but I had a nightmare. It was a really bad one and I just, I’m sorry, I know it’s stupid!” Amity started to change her mind, rising from the bed. 

Then warm fingers took her wrist and Amity looked down at Luz in surprise. “It’s not stupid at all, Amity,” Luz said kindly. “I get nightmares sometimes too.” 

Amity swallowed again, taking a deep breath. She should have known Luz wouldn’t judge her. “I’m sorry for waking you…” Amity apologized, feeling bad for ruining Luz’s sleep. 

“Hey it’s fine. You can sleep here if you don’t want to be alone,” Luz offered. “I don’t mind.” 

“W-what? Stay with you? Under the covers? In the same bed? Sleeping?!” 

A different kind of panic started to rise in Amity’s chest but then she felt Luz tracing circles on the back of her hand with her thumb. The panic subsided and Amity could see she was just being silly. She could trust Luz, and the girl was offering to be there so Amity didn’t have to be alone. 

“Alright...thank you Luz,” said Amity, smiling softly. She sat back down and slipped under the covers, letting her head sink into the pillow. 

“No problem, good night Amity,” said Luz, laying back down as well. 

“Goodnight Luz.” 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abuela Yliana talks to Luz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because we stan a Queen. 
> 
> Enjoy :D

Amity woke up feeling very warm. Along with the blankets covering her body, there seemed to be something else adding to that warmth. Amity blinked for a moment before she noticed there was a light brown arm draping over her from behind. It was then that she could hear someone’s light snoring behind her. 

Amity froze, the memories of the previous night returning to her. She had joined Luz in bed after having a nightmare, which mean that arm belonged to Luz, which meant-

Amity’s face was hot as she tried not to freak out and wake up Luz. The other girl appeared to still be asleep, so surely she had no idea right? Amity tried to reason with herself and decided she would just very carefully try to slip out from under Luz’s arm. 

Ever so slowly, she started shifting forward towards her edge of the bed. However as soon as she did, the arm tightened its hold on her and her body was spooned by Luz’s. Amity tried to control her breathing, not wanting her gay panic to ruin things now. 

She gently nudged Luz’s foot with hers, hoping to wake the girl up so Luz might notice their current position. There was another soft snore and a mumble that sounded Spanish, so Amity couldn’t understand the words. She decided to speak aloud, hoping that would rouse the girl. 

“Ahem...Luz?” she whispered loudly, not wanting to startle the girl awake either. When there was no movement she tried again, but in a normal voice this time. “Luz!” 

There was a jerky movement and Amity knew that had woken up Luz. There was a loud smacking of lips behind her and then a yelp which unfortunately went right into Amity’s eardrum. Luz sprang away from Amity, realizing what was happening. 

“Lo siento Amity, I’m so sorry!” she apologized, scooting away from her friend. “I didn’t-I wasn’t trying-I was asleep and I move a lot in my sleep and-” 

A pillow was thrown in her face as Amity said in a whisper, “You’re too loud, idiot. Lower your voice!” 

“S-sorry…” Luz moved the pillow away from her face and peered over at Amity who was now sitting up as well. At least the green haired girl seemed to be as embarrassed as she was. “I really didn’t mean to…” 

Amity pinched her nose, taking a deep breath and exhaling. “It’s fine. You were sleeping. So was I. It was just an accident,” Amity tried to assure both Luz and herself. 

Footsteps followed Eda’s entrance into the TV room as she looked at the two girls with a scowl on her face. “What’s all the ruckus?” She noticed Amity and Luz both still on the pull out bed and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What’s going on in here?” 

“Nothing!” Luz said, her voice a little too high pitched. “I kinda startled Amity by accident, sorry.” 

“I had a nightmare and came here last night,” Amity explained knowing that was the answer Eda was really looking for. “Then I woke up and uh, I guess we just kinda forgot what happened.” 

Amity and Luz exchanged sheepish looks and broke into nervous giggles. 

Eda sighed and shook her head. “Alright well just keep it down okay, some people are still trying to sleep,” she said firmly. 

“Sorry Eda,” Amity and Luz apologized at the same time. 

Eda just gave them a half smile and turned around, presumably heading back to her room. Luz grabbed her phone which was sitting on one arm of the couch to look at the time. It was about 7:30am, so still pretty early. Amity noticed the time on Luz’s phone screen and knew she should be getting ready for work soon. 

“I should get a shower, I have to be at work at 9,” Amity informed Luz. 

“Ok, I can make you breakfast!” Luz offered, getting up from the bed. 

“Oh you don’t have to-” Amity began, but Luz cut her off. 

“Nope, you’re our guest! It’s the least I can do since I freaked you out this morning, sorry again about that.” 

Amity smiled and said, “Well that’s fine then. I’ll be out in about 20 minutes.” 

Luz nodded and Amity headed for the bathroom. As she did, Yliana came out of the guest bedroom which led directly into the TV room. Luz felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach as she realized they must have woken her up. 

“Good morning, abuelita!” Luz greeted her abuela. “Sorry if we woke you.” 

Yliana waved a hand dismissively and said, “No worries. I was already awake. I’d like to make my morning coffee now.” She walked past Luz, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “Give me some company in the kitchen won’t you?” 

“Ok, I can cook you some breakfast too if you want?” Luz offered as she followed her abuela into the kitchen. 

“Oh that would be lovely! I appreciate it,” Yliana thanked her. 

Yliana started on her coffee since she liked to do it herself (she didn’t trust anyone to make her coffee), and Luz made some toast and eggs for breakfast. Amity eventually came into the kitchen, all dressed and hungry for some breakfast. She joined Luz and her abuela at the table and they silently ate together. Yliana took notice of the awkward silence between her granddaughter and Amity, but didn’t comment on it until Amity had left for work. 

“So I heard a bit of a commotion earlier,” Yliana said to Luz while the girl was washing Amity’s dishes and hers in the sink. “What happened?” 

“Oh uh…” Luz’s cheeks warmed at the memory. She really hadn’t meant to but Luz was always a bit of a cuddle bug and loved cuddling her pillow at night. She figured she must have thought Amity was a pillow and well...treated her like one. Luz said as much to her abuela and added, “It was just an accident though. Nothing to worry about!” 

Yliana sighed, staring at her granddaughter.  _ Esa chica es tan densa como una roca, _ she thought. 

“I see the way you look at that girl, Luz. Are you sure it was just an accident?” Yliana questioned her. 

“W-what?” Luz shut the water off and turned to stare at her abuela. “Of course it was an accident! And even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t cuddle her without her consent!” 

Yliana smiled kindly at her and said, “I know you wouldn’t,  _eres una buena chica_.” Then she leaned forward and her voice took on a more serious tone, “Luz, I need you to think very hard. I can tell you love Amity more than just a friend.”

“Of course I don’t!” Luz insisted. “I just really enjoy her company and I love her smile and her laugh, I hate it when she’s sad and I want to make sure she’s happy all the time and-”

Luz faltered as it finally dawned on her, “Oh.”

She remembered the napkin incident all the way back at the book festival, and how that had given her a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even before that, she thought of the hug Amity had given her when she promised Luz to not let Matt bother them. She remembered kissing Amity for a dare because she really thought Amity was the cutest girl in the room. She also remembered how she saw Amity in the light when they were at the Space Needle. All of these things made it remarkably clear. 

_ Oh.  _

_ She had a crush on Amity Blight. _

Yliana smiled a knowing smile. “Now you’re getting it, chica,” she said with a satisfied smile. 

Then she started to worry. Would this change things for her and Amity now? Could Luz continue being Amity’s friend knowing that she had feelings for her now? Could she even tell Amity about them? This would change everything, and it was possible that Amity didn’t even return her feelings. Half a year ago, Amity hated her guts! 

Luz began to spiral into a worry hole, and Yliana got up from her seat. She went to Luz’s side and pulled her into a hug. 

“ _ Ahí está, está bien ahora, _ ” Yliana murmured. “You are still young and you have plenty of time to figure things out. Whether or not you want to tell Amity about these feelings is up to you, but I think you may be surprised if you do tell her.” 

  
Luz blinked and looked up at her abuela. “You think she might like me back, abuelita?” Luz asked her. 

“Possibly, mi nieta. Quite possibly,” said Yliana. 

“I...I can’t just tell her, abuelita. I don’t want to ruin our friendship!” Luz protested, not sure she really wanted to take that risk. “I can’t.” 

“Well like I said, it’s your decision,” Yliana repeated. “But I know no matter what happens, you two will still be friends for a very long time.” 

Luz smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I think we will!” Luz pulled away from her abuela and said, “I’m going to finish cleaning up. I uh...I need to think.” 

“Take all the time you need, mi nieta. I’m here if you need me,” Yliana assured her. 

This revelation remained on Luz’s mind for the rest of the day. When Amity returned from work that afternoon, Luz couldn’t help but try to see if Amity was dropping any hints. There wasn’t really any blushing that she could see however, and as the evening went on, Luz started to think that Amity probably didn’t return her feelings after all. 

Well that was fine, Luz thought. She was happy just being Amity’s friend, even if it did hurt her heart to know her feelings weren’t reciprocated. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> Esa chica es tan densa como una roca- This girl is as dense as a rock
> 
> eres una buena chica- You are a good girl
> 
> Ahí está, está bien ahora- There there, it's alright now
> 
> Mi nieta- My granddaughter


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close guys, I hope y'all enjoy this one!!

On the day before Christmas Eve, both girls unbeknownst to each other were trying to get the other girl a Christmas present. Amity was looking for a book in the bookstore while Luz walked down the block from her house to an arts and crafts store. Luz had gotten a plain, magenta colored sweater for Amity and wanted to get some thread so she could sew her initials on the front of the sweater. 

Amity was at work, but on her break. She had noticed Luz’s strange shift in behavior the night before and even that morning, as Luz kept nervously avoiding eye contact and stumbling over her words. She was worried that it was due to the bed incident a couple of nights ago and maybe it had freaked Luz out more than it had her. 

She hoped getting a book that Luz would like to read would make the girl feel better. She also remembered that Luz was not one for gift giving, but still. It was the Christmas season, and gift giving was the tradition. Amity found a couple volumes of a comic book series called the Lumberjanes and tried to recall if she had seen them on Luz’s bookshelf at home. Amity couldn’t remember seeing anything titled Lumberjanes and decided to buy the first two volumes. 

Amity bought the volumes before returning to her break that day. She was careful to hide her purchase in her purse when she got back to the Nocedas, and Lilith had told Amity she could come wrap the books at her apartment tomorrow. So Amity hid the books within her suitcase and continued on with the day as normal. 

Luz was still acting nervous around her, and Amity started wondering if she should confront the girl about it. Something was definitely up, and she could tell Luz’s family members saw it too. On Christmas Eve, Amity was able to slip away to Lilith’s to wrap her present for Luz. She decided to seek some advice from her mentor as well. 

“Ms Cl-I mean, Lilith, can I ask you something?” Amity asked as she sat in Lilith’s living room, wrapping her present. 

“Of course,” Lilith smiled kindly at her from where she was sitting on another chair in the living room. 

“Luz has been...acting a little different around me lately. She seems more nervous for some reason, and I’m worried it’s because I joined her in bed a couple nights ago.”    
  
Lilith raised her brows at this and asked, “You joined her in bed?” 

“No, not like that!” Amity said quickly. She explained what had happened and finished, “So now I think Luz is mad at me or something.” 

Lilith chuckled and shook her head. “I doubt that, Amity. You know…” Lilith knew she needed to choose her words carefully, but she wanted to nudge Amity in the right direction too. “I see how fond of her you are, and I know she’s very fond of you as well. Might there be something more to that?” 

Amity blushed as she realized that Lilith must know somehow. She sighed, not wanting to lie to her boss. “Well, I’ll admit I do have feelings for her…” Amity said shyly. “I’ve had feelings for her a long time. And well at first I didn’t understand them so I was a little...mean to Luz. But then I realized I needed to try being nice to her and being her friend, and well…” Amity sighed. “It’s stupid, but my feelings are still there. I know she won’t return them though, not after the way I treated her.”

“Your feelings are valid, Amity,” Lilith told her gently. “And you know, it’s been a long time, and you two are so close now. I don’t think Luz would reject you as harshly as you might think.” 

“So you think I should tell her?” Amity asked, looking up from her nearly wrapped present to Lilith. 

“At least talk to her,” Lilith said. “I know she’ll listen.” 

“Yeah, maybe…” Amity mused aloud. There was certainly more potential now that she and Luz were getting on so well. But she was also a little hesitant because she didn’t want to scare the girl off. 

“Just think about it, okay? I’m not saying you need to do anything right now,” Lilith clarified. 

“Okay,” Amity understood what Lilith was saying. 

She finished wrapping Luz’s gift and stood up, smiling at her boss. “Thanks for talking with me, Lilith. I’ll see you tomorrow morning!” 

Lilith beamed at her and stood up, and the two of them hugged. “Merry Christmas Eve Amity, see you soon,” she said. 

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Amity returned the sentiment before leaving Lilith’s apartment. 

Amity thought about what Lilith said that night, and decided that if she was going to say anything, it wouldn’t be just yet. She just wanted to enjoy Christmas with the Nocedas. 

In the morning, everyone came together in the TV room. Lilith came over bright and early so everyone could open presents. Luz gave her gift to Amity, wanting her to open it first. Amity obliged, unwrapping the box to see Luz had gotten her a sweater. Upon unfolding it, Amity saw her initials were sewn onto the front. It was a really sweet gift, and Amity let out a little squeal before pulling Luz into a tight hug. 

“I love it!” Amity said honestly. 

“Put it on!” Luz urged her, “If you want to of course.” 

Amity happily put on the sweater and Camilia knew she had to get a picture of the two of them. But first Luz needed to open her present. Amity had gotten her two volumes of a series that Luz had her eye on for a while but had never gotten around to reading. She thanked Amity and Camilia had the two of them stand next to each other for a picture. 

The two girls blushed as their picture was taken and Amity felt her heart beat a little faster from being so close to her crush. Luz’s heartbeat was quickening as well, and she tried to avoid eye contact with Amity. This made the green haired girl frown slightly, but Amity quickly replaced it with a smile as to not worry Luz. 

Eda smirked at the two girls and hoped something would happen soon, because she was getting tired of the two dancing around their obvious feelings for each other. Since everywhere was pretty much closed for the holidays, the family decided to just stay in and watch Christmas movies for most of the day. They watched a few cheesy rom-coms during which Eda and Luz provided their hilarious commentary at the ridiculous tropes being used. They also watched a few classics like Rudolph and Luz insisted they watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, so they did. 

The day after Christmas, Luz met with Amity in the kitchen to plan their post Christmas party with Willow and the rest of their friends in the group chat. Gus, Skara, and Boscha were of course all invited and the group of friends agreed to meet around 11 at Eda’s cafe. The party would take place there as the apartment would be a little too small for their group that now included Gus. 

Everyone noticed that Amity and Luz were acting a little differently around each other. While they played a game of Cards against Humanity, Willow discreetly made a new group chat just including everyone except for Amity and Luz. Then she posed the question,

_ Willow: Anyone else think something’s up with Luz and Amity? _

_ Boscha: You mean besides the fact that they’re obviously crushing on each other? LOL! _

_ Gus: Wait am I missing something here? _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Skara: Don’t worry about it Gus. Anyway, Amity’s had a crush on Luz since like, well a while now! _

_ Willow: I feel like Luz’s might be a little more recent. I think we should try to give them some alone time. Maybe that’ll give them a chance to finally talk to each other. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Gus: Now? But we’re in the middle of a game! _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Willow: I’m thinking on New Year’s Eve might be a perfect time.  _

_ Boscha: I love your thinking, plant girl. _

Willow’s cheeks colored at the nickname and she sent a glare at Boscha. The pink haired girl just grinned cheekily and stuck her tongue out at Willow. The game carried on, Luz just assuming it was playful banter between two of her friends. 

Willow had an idea of how Luz and Amity could spend time together and she asked everyone to pitch in money for her idea. Willow also let Eda and Camilia know what she was planning and they agreed to help out where they could. On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Willow opened up the secondary group chat. 

_ Willow: Alright, everyone knows what they’re doing right? _

  
There was a series of yeses that followed before Gus sent a message.

_ Gus; Okay! Operation LUMITY starts now! _

_ Skara: Lumity??? _ _   
_ _   
_ __ Gus: It’s a combination of Luz and Amity’s names!

_ Boscha: Neeerrrrrrrrrrrrd _

_ Willow: Boscha, be nice _

_ Willow: Let’s get to work! _


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OPERATION LUMITY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it folks

The Nocedas headed to Seattle Center for New Year’s. They left the apartment about 6pm and went to get dinner at one of the restaurants in the area. Lilith joined them of course and after dinner, Amity and Luz were free to roam. 

Luz and Amity used the group chat to coordinate where they could find their friends, and they all ended up meeting at the entrance to the Space Needle. Since they had already experienced the Space Needle however, Boscha suggested they go and dance for a little while at the pavilion nearby.    
  
The group headed over and joined in on the dancing, forming a dance circle of their own. Willow made sure to keep an eye on the time and they ended up dancing for a little over an hour. Since none of them were even near 21 years old, their drink options were limited but they found a cute family friendly cafe in the area that was still open. Amity’s feet hurt from dancing so much and was eager for the chance to sit down. 

At the cafe, the group decided to share New Year’s Resolutions with one another. Willow and Skara tried to drop hints to Amity and Luz by saying they wanted to take a few risks and try new things in the New Year. 

“The New Year is like a large lake, and we are all divers about to take the plunge,” Willow said, looking directly at Luz and Amity. “The question is, do we let the lake drown us, do we choke on the water? Or do we hit the surface of the lake and swim on to the other side?” 

The hints sadly did not meet their mark, but that was okay. This was only the first part of Willow’s plan. Boscha had brought a box of Cards Against Humanity and they decided to play that for a little while. A few games were played, and after the third Willow checked the time. It was 11pm now, which meant they needed to get moving. 

“Hey Luz, Amity,” Willow spoke to the two of them. “You guys want to go for a ride on the ferris wheel?” 

“Isn’t that really pricey?” Luz asked, her first concern being the expenses. 

“Yes but we all actually chipped in and got tickets for a single cabin for all of us!” Willow said with a grin. “Since it’s New Year’s Eve, the ride will be extended so we can all enjoy the fireworks when they go off at midnight!” 

“Ooh!” Amity thought that was a brilliant idea and was touched that all of her friends had made this plan. Still, she was confused about one thing. “Well why didn’t you ask me to chip in for the ride?” 

“Well...it just felt like taking advantage of you because your family has so much money,” Willow explained smoothly, having expected this question. “We wanted to do something nice for you with our own money!” 

Amity kinda understood that and she smiled. “Thank you Willow. I guess we should get going?” 

“Yup!” Boscha affirmed, and they all got up and headed out of the cafe together. 

They went to the parking lot where Boscha’s car was parked and piled in. Boscha drove them all to the docks where the large Seattle Great Wheel was located. Once she found a parking spot, they were all able to walk to the Wheel together. 

Every group that rode on the ferris wheel got their picture taken beforehand. Amity was a little nervous about this but then remembered that her parents had given her permission to be out here. So there was no harm in getting a picture of her with all of her friends. Willow and the others crowded around Luz and Amity, so the two girls were squished together between all of their friends. 

Luz needed somewhere to put her arm and asked Amity, “Uh...is this okay?” She reached to put an arm around Amity’s waist, but waited for consent. 

“Yeah, the arm’s gotta go somewhere,” said Amity with a soft blush. She reached around with her own arm and rested her hand on Luz’s other side. “That’s okay, right?” 

“Yeah, of course,” said Luz, trying to hide her nervousness. 

“Focus on the camera you two!” came Boscha’s voice. “It’s picture time!” 

Luz and Amity blushed in embarrassment and turned their attention to the camera. Everyone smiled for the photo and Amity hoped her face wasn’t too red. The photographer informed them that they could download the photo digitally using the barcode on their ticket so the group could deal with that later. 

They approached the gondola that awaited them and Willow purposefully slowed down, as did the others. Skara, being the clumsiest of the group, tactfully let her bracelet slip off her hand. The bracelet fell to the floor and rolled a couple feet away.    
  
“Oh no! Where’s my bracelet?” Skara asked, raising her hand. 

The six of them started looking on the ground for the lost bracelet and the employees were unsure of what to do about this. Then Willow spoke up,

“Luz, Amity, you two go ahead. We’ll keep looking for the bracelet. It’s fine!” 

“But what about you guys?” Amity asked, concerned. 

Boscha ushered her and Luz towards the doors of the gondola. “Times a ticking, we don’t want to hold up the whole line!” Boscha said before practically shoving them into the gondola. She looked around quickly to locate the wheel operator and gave them a thumbs up, signalling that it was okay to close the doors.

The doors closed before Luz and Amity could do anything and they watched as the gondola started to lift them up into the air. Their friends waved at them from below, giant grins on their faces. 

Amity sighed and took a seat on the bench. “I think we just got set up,” she muttered.

Luz had a feeling she was right. Well it was too late now. She swallowed and took a seat across from Amity. “Well at least it’ll be quieter, right?” Luz said, trying to be optimistic.

“Heh, yeah…” Amity smiled and looked out the window at the starry sky. She was trying not to think too much about the fact that she was now alone in a gondola with Luz Noceda, the girl she had been crushing on for most of the past year. She could see her slight blush in the faint reflection on the window and hoped Luz didn’t notice. But when Amity glanced towards the other girl, her cheeks reddened even more when she saw Luz was looking right back at her. 

“W-what are you staring at?” Amity asked, trying to act like she hadn’t just been blushing in Luz Noceda’s presence. 

“Nothing!” Luz said a little too quickly, but she could feel the warmth in her face as she spoke. Amity Blight was not easily fooled, and Luz knew it. “Just um…” Luz looked out the window, thinking fast. “Enjoying the view!” 

Amity allowed herself to relax a little, looking out the window as well. Luz was trying her best to not look back at the green haired girl, but her mind was racing. Willow’s words about taking risks echoed in her head, and then she thought of her abuela’s words to her a few days ago. 

_ “I think you may be surprised,”  _ her abuela had told her. 

Luz risked a glance at Amity and saw she was still gazing out the window. Her face was still a little red, and Luz also took note of how tightly her fingers were wound together. 

Maybe it was possible that Amity returned her feelings. Maybe the New Year could mark the beginning of a new relationship between her and Amity. Luz’s brows furrowed together, and she glanced down on her ticket. The ride was for 30 minutes, and they had boarded at about 11:45. Looking out the window, she saw a nearby skyscraper displaying a large billboard that had the time on it, which read 11:50.    
  
Amity hazarded a glance at Luz and was relieved to see she was still staring out the window. She appeared to be deep in thought, and Amity longed to know what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. She blushed at the thought, but also remembered Lilith’s words to her on the day before Christmas. 

_ “At least talk to her,”  _ Lilith had said. 

Amity’s nerves were beginning to rise in her throat. She closed her eyes and thought about Willow’s metaphor for the New Year. Luz was a lake, and she had to dive into-wait no, that sounded weird. Amity’s face contorted as she tried to figure out what the metaphor really meant. Did the lake maybe mean their friendship, or their relationship?

“Amity?” Luz noticed she was getting lost in her head again and wanted to pull her out. “Whatcha thinking about?” She leaned forward in her seat, looking at the green haired girl curiously. 

“Oh just...things. This past year,” Amity said, and it was partially true. “The New Year will be nice, since it’ll be our first year when we’re not enemies.” 

“Yeah,” Luz agreed. “We’re friends.” 

“Right…” Amity took a deep breath and exhaled. 

Two things occurred to Luz in that very moment. One: the word ‘friends’ didn’t taste quite right on her tongue after she spoke it. It certainly didn’t sound right to call them friends now, not after everything. Two: Had that been disappointment in Amity’s voice? Had Amity been hoping Luz would say something else? 

_ “Do we let the lake drown us? Do we choke on the water?”  _ Willow’s words echoed in her mind. 

Luz looked at Amity, and then back towards the window where the stars greeted her. 

_ “Or do we take the plunge-” _ Luz told the Willow inside her head to please stop talking so she could think. A New Year did mean new things. One of those things could include being more than just friends with Amity. Luz’s eyes went back to Amity, who was looking a little more sullen. 

“We don’t have to be friends though,” Luz spoke, and Amity looked at her with wide eyes. 

“You don’t want to be friends?” Amity asked, sounding hurt. 

“N-no!” Luz corrected her. “I’m saying, maybe we can be more?” 

Amity’s heart leapt in her throat as she stared at Luz. “Are...what are you saying, Luz?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t too good to be true. 

Luz took a deep breath and stood up, switching over to Amity’s side of the gondola and sitting next to her. 

“I’m saying that I really, really like you,” Luz started. “I think I’ve liked you for at least a few months now, and I think it’s time that I admitted it. Because it’s true. I really like you, Amity Blight, and-” 

_ I’m taking the plunge _ , Amity thought before she leaned in and pressed her lips against Luz’s. The girl was cut off mid sentence but Amity didn’t care, she just wanted Luz to know the extent of her feelings towards her. Then Luz put an arm around Amity’s waist and gently cupped the back of her head. Amity reached up to hold her arms as they kept their lips together, tasting each other for the first time. 

Moments passed and their lips finally broke apart, but stayed in place otherwise. Amity stared at Luz’s large brown eyes, noticing how incredibly deep they were now that she was up close. Luz on the other hand was frozen in place, her mind trying to create a logical explanation as to what was happening right now. 

_ Amity Blight just kissed me. Amity Blight likes me back. Amity Blight is still staring at me and those golden eyes of hers are so gorgeous and she’s holding me and I’m holding her and I really need to say something so I don’t weird her out. _   
  


Amity saw how red Luz’s face was and quickly started waving her hands. “I’m so sorry, I should have asked first! I just got nervous and I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t-I mean I just wanted you to know that I felt the same way!” Amity rambled. 

“Y-yeah, of course!” Luz said, understanding where Amity was coming from. The fact that Amity felt the same way gave her the courage she needed to take Amity’s hand in hers. Hand holding was a thing they could do right? “Um...is that okay?” She asked, gesturing to her hands. 

“It’s totally fine!” said Amity nervously, noticing how warm and  _ soft _ Luz’s hand was. 

The two of them were silent before a loud whistle followed by a bang came from outside, making both of them jump. Amity let out a little shriek before bright fireworks began to fill the sky, more bangs and whistles following as the sky lit up. The two of them were embarrassed at having been so startled by something as simple as fireworks, and they giggled nervously. 

“Oh jeez, we’re a mess aren’t we?” Luz mumbled. 

Amity agreed and paused for a moment of thought. “So um...is this the part where I ask you to be my girlfriend? Or are you supposed to ask me?” 

“I-” Luz faltered, not having done this sort of thing before. “Maybe? Um...I mean I’d like to be your girlfriend, if that’s okay with you of course!” 

Seeing Luz was just as flustered as she was made Amity feel a little better about this whole awkward situation. She looked at Luz, whose face was now being colored by the light of the various fireworks outside. Luz was smiling softly, and still blushing. Amity returned the smile and the two of them turned their attention to the fireworks. 

“The fireworks are pretty, huh,” said Amity, trying to make the situation less awkward. 

“Y-yeah, pretty,” Luz assured, but she was looking at Amity rather than the fireworks. 

Amity glanced towards her and Luz quickly looked back out the window, acting as if she had been referring to the fireworks. She wondered if maybe she should try a cheesy pick up line, since maybe it would calm their nerves. 

“Hey Amity?” Luz said, drawing the green haired girl’s attention to her.

“Yeah?” 

“Are you a firework? Because you light up my sky,” said Luz, trying to be suave. 

Amity stared at Luz for a moment before breaking into a laugh, and Luz started laughing as well. 

“Oh my God Luz, that was so bad!” Amity exclaimed between giggles. 

“I-I thought I would try to  _ lighten _ the mood,” Luz attempted it again. 

“Stop!!” Amity begged, laughing so hard her sides hurt. 

Luz grinned, the butterflies in her stomach having calmed. She noticed Amity looked more relaxed too and was glad that her puns had done the trick. 

“Happy New Year, Amity,” Luz said to her once she had stopped laughing. 

“Happy New Year, Luz,” Amity said in return, smiling at her friend, or well now she supposed she could call Luz her girlfriend now. The thought made her blush again, and she decided to just enjoy the rest of the ride with Luz. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~THE END~
> 
> Just kidding, don't worry guys I have more planned for this story ;)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's back to school for our girls!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will not be doing the ~THE END~ joke again, I apologize. I have much more planned. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

When the ride was over, Luz and Amity stepped out of the gondola, still holding hands but neither girl really realized it until they found their friends waiting nearby with shit eating grins on their faces.    
  
“It worked!” Skara squealed, excitedly. 

“I knew they could do it,” Willow said with a soft smile at the two girls. “So did you two have fun?” 

“Yeah, we had fun,” said Luz a little shyly. “I want to be mad that you actually set us up like that but…” Luz glanced at her hand in Amity’s and continued, “I’m actually glad you did.” 

Amity gave Luz’s hand a gentle squeeze and said, “So am I.” She blushed as she said this and Luz’s face was just as red as hers. 

“So are you two official now?” Boscha asked, wanting more details. 

“Oh uh,” Amity glanced at Luz, unsure if they were on the same page about that. “I think so?”

“Yeah, we are,” Luz affirmed with a shy smile. 

Gus gave them a thumbs up and Willow spoke again, “It’s pretty late already. Did you guys want to do anything else?” 

Suddenly Luz’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. It was a text from her mom, Camilia, asking if she was ready to go home.    
  
“I think my moms are ready to go home, actually,” Luz said, waving the phone as an explanation. Then she looked at Amity and asked, “Is that okay?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” said Amity. She was pretty tired anyway. 

The group finally parted ways and Amity and Luz met back up with Luz’s family. Eda noticed that the girls were still holding hands and grinned. 

“It’s about time, kids. Glad you finally figured it out,” Eda congratulated them. 

Amity and Luz also noticed they were still holding hands. However, Amity’s hand felt warm and Luz’s and she didn’t really want to let go. Amity seemed to have this same thought and the two exchanged a glance before blushing, but keeping eye contact. 

“Oh you two are precious,” said Camilia. “And just in time for the New Year!” 

Yliana smiled fondly at her granddaughter and her now girlfriend. She had that look in her eyes that said “I told you so” but didn’t want to embarrass Luz in front of her new girlfriend. Not yet anyway. 

They all got back into Camilia’s jeep and Amity and Luz rejoined hands once they were buckled in the back seat. Yliana sat on Luz’s other side and as Camilia started driving, she leaned over to whisper something in Luz’s ear. 

“I’m proud of you, mi nieta,” Yliana murmured. 

Luz cheeks flushed as she was proud of herself as well. She and Amity exchanged shy looks but continued holding hands the rest of the way home. Camilia told the girls that since they were dating, they weren’t allowed to share a bed again. That was fine for Amity since she knew she wouldn’t have any nightmares after the events of that night. 

The next day, Amity had to return home since the holidays were now pretty much over. The two of them shyly kissed before Amity got into her car. Luz watched her  _ girlfriend _ drive away, and happiness warmed her heart at the thought of using that word for Amity now. 

Amity was glad the twins would still be home for a couple more days before they had to return to their college campus. She wanted to tell them the good news before they left. When Amity got to the manor, she quickly headed inside with her suitcase and stashed it in her room before going to look for the twins. She found them both in Edric’s room and they beamed when they saw their little sister coming in. 

“Amity, welcome home!” Emira exclaimed, getting up from her seat at Edric’s desk and coming over to hug her little sister. “Did you have fun?” 

“Yes!” Amity replied happily. She pulled away and closed the door behind her before saying, “I have some good news too!” 

“Oh?” the twins simultaneously said, looking at Amity with interest. 

  
“I may be dating Luz now,” Amity spoke in a low voice, not wanting anyone outside of the room to hear. 

The Blight twins grinned at their sister, happy for her. Then Emira smirked at Edric who seemed to realize what that meant.    
  
“Alright, fine. Here you go,” Edric muttered, pulling $20 out of his pocket and handing it over to Emira. 

“Thank you,” said Emira with a satisfied grin. She pocketed the money and looked back at Amity. “We might have made a bet on when you two would get together.”

Amity rolled her eyes, but was smiling as she did so. “Of course you did. Well I’m going to go unpack and text my new  _ girlfriend _ now!” she said excitedly, but still speaking quietly. 

“Have fun, Mittens,” Edric said with a grin. 

Emira gave Amity a wave before she left the room. Amity went back to her room and started unpacking. As she emptied out her suitcase, she heard her phone ding from where it sat on her bed. Amity grabbed it to see it was a text from Luz. Smiling she unlocked her phone screen and sat down, opening her message thread with Luz. 

_ Luz: I’ve changed your name to “My Girlfriend” on my phone. I hope that’s okay! _

Amity let out a soft laugh at that, because that was a very Luz thing to do. 

_ Amity: Absolutely, Luz. _

_ Luz: What about you? _

_ Amity: Oh...I can’t in case my parents decide they want to look through my contacts. They trust me enough to not look through my phone, but I don’t want to take any risks. Sorry :( _

_ Luz: Oh that’s fine. Safety is important! _

_ Amity: Thanks for understanding Luz. _

_ Luz: I gotta go with my moms to drive abuela to the airport. Talk later! _

_ Amity: Talk later <3 _

_ Luz: <3 _

Amity finished unpacking and then checked her phone again to see if Luz had texted her any more, even though she said she was busy. The day went on as normal and school was open again on January 4th. As soon as Amity returned to school, she went to find Luz at her locker. 

“Hey Luz!” Amity greeted her girlfriend-would she ever get used to calling her that?-with a bright smile. 

“Oh hey Amity!” Luz smiled back at her, cheeks growing warm at the thought that Amity was now her girlfriend and standing right here in front of her at school. Then another thought occurred to her; Luz wasn’t sure if Amity wanted their relationship to be public so she lowered her voice and asked, “Do you want us to, you know, keep our relationship on the downlow?” 

That was a good question that Amity hadn’t considered yet. Then she thought about how this was a brand new year, which should mean a brand new Amity Blight, right? Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to Luz who was already out, even though she didn’t want to be. Amity smiled and took Luz’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“Nah, besides I’m popular enough. No one will care,” Amity said decisively. 

Luz seemed relieved at that and Amity was glad they were on the same wavelength. The two of them kept their hands joined as they started walking down the hall. Students did notice but most didn’t seem to care enough to comment on it. Luz and Amity continued on until Luz reached her Math classroom and remembered something: They didn’t actually share a first class together today. 

Amity had come to this realization as well and blushed, pulling her hand away from her girlfriend. “Right, my classroom’s down the hall. My bad,” she said, looking sheepish. 

“It’s okay,” Luz assured her. “I’ll see you later!” 

“Yeah, see you later,” said Amity with a grin. 

At lunch, Luz and Amity sat a little closer together than the rest of their friends. They held hands under the table and carried on normal conversation with everyone else. Skara ended up telling a joke that was so funny Luz spat out the bit of soda that was still in her mouth before she could swallow it. Amity quickly took a napkin and tenderly cleaned her girlfriend’s chin off before giving her a kiss on the cheek. Luz squealed at the sudden kiss, face turning red as she tried not to leap out of her seat right there.

“Aha!” came a voice. Matthew Mulligan had decided to rear his ugly head. “So Amity Blight is a dyke! Looks like you caught the gay, Amity,” Matt sneered at her. 

“Oh fuck off, Matt,” Boscha snarled at him, getting up from her seat. “No one cares. Go find something else to do. Your efforts are wasted on us.” 

There were collective nods of agreement around the table and Matt grumbled. He turned his slimy ass around and started to skulk off, but not before pausing and looking over his shoulder at the group. 

“You’re going down, Blight,” Matt threatened before walking off. 

Amity was unfazed, as she was empowered by the presence of her girlfriend and their friends. Whatever happened this semester, she was not going to let Matthew Mulligan ruin it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids at the bookstore give Amity and Luz a little insight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because kids are friggin adorable and also observant as fuck

About a few days passed after Amity had officially come out to the whole school. So far her parents seemed to not have a single clue about what was going on. Amity and Luz continued to hold hands in the halls of Hexside and gave each other shy looks in class.

On the Friday after winter break, Luz joined Amity in heading to the bookstore for her shift. Since it was Friday, that meant after school story time for the kids at local daycares. Amity and Luz took their seats in the children’s section in the reading nook. Amity had actually helped decorate it a little more and there were character themed pillows for children to sit on. 

Luz helped Amity with the voices as usual, but this time each girl watched the other with a fond smile. Amity laughed more at Luz’s goofy voices and Luz would add in sound effects that made Amity laugh so hard she had to put the book down until she could calm down. 

“Ms Amity?” one child spoke up, a regular named Garrett. “Why are you so red today?” 

“Are you gettin’ sick?” another girl asked, a newer attendee whose name Amity couldn’t quite remember. 

“No, don’t worry, I’m fine!” Amity assured the kids. 

“Mah big sis does that too!” another kid told Garrett. “She does when, when she’s talk’in ‘bout boys and stuffs.” 

“My mommy says, my mommy says that sometimes...sometimes people do that when, when they really like somebody.” said another kid. 

“Well she’s right,” Luz said, drawing the kids’ attention. “We recently found out that we kinda like each other a whole lot.” 

Amity smiled and confirmed, “Yes. I guess I’m still getting used to the idea of Luz being my girlfriend now.” 

The second girl who spoke asked Amity, “Do you guys like, go on dates and stuff?” 

“Oh um…” both Luz and Amity realized that in the entire time they had started dating, they actually hadn’t been on their first date yet. 

“We actually haven’t gone on one yet,” Amity said, not being able to lie to the kids. Then the girl’s name clicked in her head. Sammi was her name. 

“Why not?” the third kid asked. 

“Maybe they don’ know where to go!” Garret suggested to the third kid. 

“My daddy likes to take my mommy to res-res-restants sometimes,” the third kid replied. 

“Are you saying restaurants, maybe?” Luz asked him. 

“You know! A place you can eat when you’re not at your house!” the kid tried to explain. 

Luz chuckled and asked, “What was your name again?”

“Robbie!” the kid replied helpfully. “It’s short for Robert.”

Luz smiled and said, “Okay Robbie, well Amity and I are in big kid school and it’s a whole lot busier than the school you kids go to. There’s not a whole lot of time for us to go out on dates.” 

Sammi spoke up next, “My mommy calls it a um, a play-date when she takes me over to um, my friend’s house! Can you do that?” 

The fourth kid who had been quiet until now said, “My mommy also said that a date’s s’post to be special!” Then realizing she should probably introduce herself she added, “My name is Lily!” 

“Well you’re right, Lily. It should be special. And it would be our first date too, so we don’t want to just go anywhere,” Amity explained to the child. 

“What about ice-cream?” Sammi suggested.

“It’s too cold for ice scream!” Lily argued. “They should go somewhere warm.” 

Luz and Amity chuckled as they saw what the kids were trying to do. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out,” Luz assured them. “I appreciate you guys trying though.” 

“We should really finish this book,” Amity pointed out, showing that they had a little bit more in the third book to go. 

Amity and Luz finished reading the book, noticing the kids were completely silent now. Some of them looked thoughtful and Amity was worried they were thinking too much about what had been said. Perhaps they shouldn’t have mentioned it to the children?

Regardless, the kids still enjoyed story time and left the area to find their parents. Now Luz and Amity had a moment to themselves. The conversation was on both of their minds and they knew the kids were right. 

“Where should we go on our first date, Amity?” Luz asked her girlfriend. 

“Hmm...well ice cream does sound kinda nice, even though it is cold,” Amity admitted with a soft laugh. 

“What if we baked something together?” Luz suggested. “It would be cheaper and we could do it at my place!” 

“Your moms have a lot of cooking stuff in their house, don’t they,” Amity recalled from the glimpses into their kitchen she had over winter break. 

Luz laughed and nodded. “Yeah, so how about it? Cupcakes, or cookies, or we could make something else!” 

“Cookies could be fun,” Amity said, liking this idea. “When should we do this?”

Luz thought for a moment before saying, “You’re not working tomorrow are you? We could bake cookies tomorrow!” 

Amity shook her head and said, “It’s a date then!” 

The girls agreed to meet up at Luz’s apartment about mid afternoon the next day. Luz sent Amity a text saying they did need a few things, so Amity stopped by the store to grab what they needed before heading to Luz’s apartment. 

Amity stepped into the apartment, and Luz noticed how red her girlfriend’s face was from the cold outside. “Are you red because it’s cold or are you red because you’re nervous?” Luz teased her girlfriend. 

“It’s cold, of course!” Amity said, blushing furiously, setting the grocery bag down so she could remove her scarf and jacket. After hanging it up, Luz and Amity headed into the kitchen. Eda and Camilia had gone out earlier that afternoon to give the girls some alone time for their first date, with the promise that the house would be nice and clean before they got home. 

Luz got out the bakeware they needed while Amity preheated the oven. Then they got to work on making chocolate chip cookie dough from scratch. Upon making the dough, Luz decided to have some fun with the flour. While Amity was getting the chocolate chips from the pantry, Luz quickly coated her hands and face in flour. Then she snuck up behind Amity, waiting for the green haired girl to turn around. 

Amity turned and screamed at the sight of a chalky white face in front of her. Luz laughed and Amity immediately scowled, but eventually broke into a laugh at Luz’s cuteness. She walked over with the bag of chocolate chips and set it down before reaching into the bag of flour. 

Amity scooped up a handful and put it on the counter in a pile. She spread out the pile a little bit before tracing something with her finger. Luz looked to see that Amity had written, “You’re adorable” in the flour. 

She grinned and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, planting a kiss on her cheek and leaving behind a patch of flour. Of course, Amity was so pale that the flour nearly blended in with her skin. Amity squealed in surprise as Luz giggled at the sight. 

“Careful Luz, I can’t have any sign of flour when I go home,” Amity said, not needing to state the obvious reason why. 

“Right, sorry,” said Luz. 

She helped Amity wipe off the flour left on her top with a damp towel and then they returned to baking. While the cookies were in the oven, Luz cleaned herself off so the girls could sit on the couch for a few minutes. They had to leave the couch briefly to retrieve the cookies but soon returned to the couch, Amity carrying a plate of hot cookies. She set the plate down on the table and leaned back into the couch, letting Luz put an arm around her shoulder. 

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Luz murmured into her ear as they leaned against each other. 

“Yeah. Baking cookies was a good idea, Luz,” said Amity honestly. 

“Cool. Not bad for our first date then!” Luz said cheerfully. 

Amity agreed and gave her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, but Luz caught her chin and turned her face so she could kiss her on the lips. The kiss lasted for a few moments before they broke apart, giggling nervously. The two of them ate a couple of cookies and both agreed that it was best if Luz kept the rest. Besides, her moms would surely want to eat them. 

Amity helped Luz clean up the kitchen and they retreated to the TV room and decided to watch a few episodes of a new anime that had just come out that winter. As they settled onto the couch, Luz leaned into Amity’s side. Amity jerked in surprise at the sudden touch and felt Luz’s warm body pressing against hers. Luz reached over to hold Amity’s hand and looked up at her girlfriend. 

“Um...is this okay?” Luz asked, not wanting to overstep her boundaries. 

“Yeah, it’s fine, I don’t mind!” Amity said hotly, not knowing why she was so nervous. Luz was her girlfriend now, there was nothing to be worried about right? It was just simple cuddling, she told herself. She could handle cuddling! Her siblings had cuddled her before when she was younger so it wasn’t like this was anything new.

Luz smirked at Amity’s face and poked her cheek gently. “You’re really cute when you get all flustered,” she teased lightly. 

“Sh-shut up,” Amity said weakly, feeling hot from how close to her face Luz was now. “Just start the anime, will you?” 

Luz nodded and pulled away from Amity, leaning forward to where her laptop sat on the coffee table. It was connected to the TV so Luz could play anime on her laptop and it would show on the big screen. The wonders of an HDMI cord! Luz started the anime and then returned to snuggling up next to Amity. 

She slid her arm around Amity’s and rested her head on her shoulder. “You’re um...you’re really warm,” Luz said shyly, and Amity’s face flushed from the contact. 

_ This girl is going to be my cause of death,  _ Amity thought as she looked down at the brown head on her shoulder. It was kind of nice, and she relaxed and let her head rest on top of Luz’s. The two of them remained snuggled on the couch while they watched anime together for a little while. 

Soon, Amity noticed the time on the wall clock above the TV and sighed, she had to go home. Luz, ever the gentlewoman, walked her girlfriend to her car and held the door open for her. Amity smiled and thanked Luz before giving her a quick kiss. Blushing, Luz closed the door for Amity once she was in the car and waved as her girlfriend headed home. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's day followed by Amity's birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fluff before the storm y'all have been asking about. 
> 
> Also this chapter is dedicated to my friend and translator GirgZr since her birthday is on February 18th, the same day as Amity's!
> 
> Enjoy :D

On the week of Valentine’s Day, Amity realized she should probably do something with Luz for the holiday. It was supposed to be a romantic holiday after all. Amity didn’t know how her girlfriend felt about Valentine’s, so she sent her a text on the afternoon before Valentine’s Day. 

_ Amity: How do you feel about Valentine’s day?”  _

_ Luz: A capitalistic holiday. I’d rather just spend time with you, but you can get me some dairy free cupcakes if you really want to get something. _

_ Amity: Are you sure you’re not just craving cupcakes right now? _

_ Luz: I might be… _ _  
_ _  
_ Amity chuckled and stuck her phone back in her pocket. She still had another hour of work to finish before she could head home. After her shift, Amity decided she would leave early in the morning so she could stop by the store and grab some cupcakes. She didn’t want to risk buying any now and having her parents discover it. 

Amity texted Luz, letting her know she was coming over the following morning. Luz met her outside on the front porch and Amity smiled nervously as she approached her girlfriend. Luz seemed to be just as nervous as she shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, hands behind her back. 

“So I got you something,” said Amity, before reaching into her bag and pulling out the box of cupcakes. “I hope they haven’t gotten crushed while in there but they should still be good!” 

“Aw, Amity! You actually got me cupcakes?!” Luz was unable to resist any gift that contained sugary goodness. She gratefully took the box and said, “Thank you!” Then she dug into her own bag and took out a piece of paper.    
  
“So uh, I drew a picture of us for Valentine’s Day,” Luz explained. She handed the piece of paper to Amity. The green haired girl looked at the picture, seeing it was her and Luz dressed up as Azura and Hecate, holding hands. In colorful font above their drawn heads, Luz had written “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

“Oh, Luz, I love it!” Amity exclaimed. 

She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s neck and gave her a kiss on the lips, surprising Luz. She blushed furiously, trying to form coherent thoughts as Amity giggled against her lips. God, this girl was so cute! 

Luz returned the kiss before saying, “You should put it in your locker under the picture of us at camp.”

Amity’s eyes widened and she asked, “You know about that?”

“I’ve seen it a few times, Amity. It’s cute!” Luz assured her.

Amity blushed in mild embarrassment and explained, “It’s just one of my favorite memories from last summer. I want to remember it every time I go to school.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet Amity!” said Luz, smiling happily at her girlfriend. 

“So um, wanna go somewhere fun?” Amity asked as they started walking to her car. 

“Like where?” Luz asked. 

The two of them loaded into the car and Amity started the drive. “Well it’s not too cold today, I was thinking we could go get ice cream!” Amity suggested. 

“I’m lactose intolerant, remember?” Luz asked, and Amity was reminded of the incident that occurred last summer. They had gone to an ice cream shop and Luz hadn’t wanted to tell Amity she was lactose intolerant and ruin her fun, so she got regular ice cream and paid the price for it later. 

“We’ll get you sherbert this time,” Amity promised. 

Luz smiled and nodded her assent. “Alright then.” 

Amity drove them to a small ice cream shop called “Mal and Molly’s Sweet Shop.” Luz was reminded of the Lumberjanes comics Amity had gotten her for Christmas and pointed it out to her girlfriend. The two shared a laugh and headed into the shop. 

Amity got snickerdoodle flavored ice cream while Luz got a strawberry-mango sherbert. The two of them got their ice creams and sat at a table by the window. Amity started in on her ice cream while Luz talked first. 

“So your birthday should be coming up soon right?” Luz asked her. 

Amity paused before eating another bite, having forgotten all about it. It was February 14th, and her birthday was on February 18th. That was four days from now. Amity gave her confirmation when she realized Luz was still waiting for an answer. 

“Yeah, it is!” said Amity. “Boscha, Skara and I usually have a sleepover at the manor.” 

“Okay, well what about during the day?” Luz asked. 

“Well, during the day I’m free of course. So if you have anything planned…” Amity trailed off, giving Luz a hopeful look. 

“Well I might have  _ something _ planned. You’re my girlfriend after all, and your birthday should be extra special!” said Luz with a smile. 

“Nothing too big, alright? Please?” Amity asked, not wanting Luz to overdo herself. 

“Alright I’ll keep it simple, but I still want you to have fun!” Luz said. 

“I always have fun with you Luz,” Amity said genuinely, watching as Luz blushed at her words. 

Amity and Luz continued talking while they ate their ice cream. They stayed in the ice cream shop even after they had finished, still talking. Eventually Amity had to leave for work, so she took Luz home first. With a promise to text each other later, Amity headed off to work while Luz went into her apartment. 

Luz took out the box of cupcakes that was still in her bag and opened it, relieved to see that they hadn’t been crushed yet. She went into her room and got a sticky note, writing “A present from Amity” on it and sticking the note on the box. Luz stuck the box in the fridge, but not before taking out a couple of cupcakes and eating them. 

Amity started texting her while she was at work and Luz teased her about flirting while on the job. She smiled when she thought of Amity’s flustered face whenever she teased her and knew that was exactly what was happening to her at that moment. Luz then knew what she wanted to do for Amity on her birthday and checked the date to make sure it was a day that worked for both of them. 

Amity’s birthday fell on a Thursday, so it would have to be after school. When the 18th came along, Luz and Amity met each other again at the parking lot. 

“So what’s the plan?” Amity asked curiously. 

Luz grinned, winking at her girlfriend. “You’ll see. I’ll give you directions.” 

Amity nodded and Luz guided her to a location about 20 minutes away from Hexside. Amity found a two hour parking spot and was worried that wouldn’t be long enough for whatever Luz had planned, but Luz assured her it would be fine. She led Amity down the street to what looked like an ice skating rink. 

“Know how to ice skate?” Luz asked Amity, holding the door open for her. 

“Not at all!” said Amity, walking inside. 

“I’ve only done it once, but it shouldn’t be too hard!” said Luz. “I was really little though.”

Amity chuckled, seeing that this was going to be extra fun for both of them. Luz went to the counter where they could rent ice skates and got a pair for each of them. Once they had their skates on, they helped each other make their way to the rink. 

“Careful,” said Luz, holding on to the railing and stepping down onto the ice. As soon as her foot made contact, she slipped and let out a yelp. Amity reached forward and caught her arm, holding her so Luz could steady herself. “I guess I should follow my own advice, huh?” said Luz with a laugh. 

Amity rolled her eyes. “Idiot,” she murmured before stepping onto the ice herself. She was more careful than Luz was, but her legs were still very shaky. 

“Hold onto me,” said Luz, reaching out and taking Amity’s hand. 

Amity held both of Luz’s hands with each of hers and the two of them carefully slid together on the ice. 

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you,” said Amity after a few minutes of struggling. 

“Hey, I wanted to do something fun for your birthday!” said Luz. “I’m trying.” 

Amity gave her girlfriend a warm smile and said, “I know.” 

It took a little while, but the two eventually got to a slow push and slide on their ice skates. They kept their hands joined together but skated side by side. Then Luz slowed down, causing Amity to slow down as well as she ended up turning towards her girlfriend. Luz pulled her forward on her skates and suddenly they were chest to chest, holding each other as if they were about to dance.

Amity blushed at the sudden closeness and Luz asked, “Can I try twirling you?” 

“Luz, I just barely learned how to skate, I don’t think I can twirl just yet,” Amity protested. 

“I’ll catch you!” Luz promised her. 

Amity sighed and the two of the shifted back and forth on the ice, before Luz gently pushed Amity away slightly. Then Luz raised Amity’s hand up high with her own and Amity attempted a twirl. It was a little clumsy and Amity felt herself slipping back as she turned on her heel. Luckily Luz’s arms wrapped around her waist and held Amity close to her. 

“I told you I’d catch you,” Luz whispered with a smile. “Happy birthday, Amity!”

Amity blushed and turned so she could face her girlfriend. “Thank you Luz.” 

Amity leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Luz’s, and the shorter girl returned the kiss in kind. They were too wrapped up in each other to hear a faint click from nearby, and didn’t see anyone leave the ice skating rink just a few moments later. 

The two of them skated a little more before Amity figured they should head back to the car so they didn’t get a parking ticket. Luz told Amity to go to the Owl House cafe next so they did, and Luz refused to say why until they got there. 

When they went inside, all of their friends along with Eda and Camilia popped out from behind the counter. 

“SURPRISE!” they all shouted. 

“Oh!” Amity covered her mouth, tears coming to her eyes as she saw a big banner on the wall behind the counter that read “Happy Birthday Amity.” There were flowers on the counter and a few tables had been pushed together. There was a delicious looking cake that upon closer inspection, had Amity’s name written on it. 

“Guys, you really didn’t have to do this!” Amity said, still in shock. 

Luz chuckled and escorted her girlfriend to the table. “Let’s have some cake.” 

Amity was trying not to cry but tears were already rolling down her cheeks. Everyone gathered at the table and Eda lit up the candles. After everyone sang happy birthday, Amity blew out the candles and received hugs from every single one of her friends as well as Eda and Camilia. 

“Happy birthday, kiddo,” said Eda with a grin. 

The cake was cut and since it was made with soymilk, Luz was able to have a piece for herself. Amity felt happy that she had met all these people, because otherwise her heart wouldn’t be so full nor would she even be here right now. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity has a bad day. Yes it is Matt's fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW FOR ABUSIVE PARENTS AND HOMOPHOBIA!

Amity woke up on the Monday following her birthday, blinking sleepily at her ceiling; heavy rain and dark storm clouds outside kept the room still relatively dark. She glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table and groaned. About an hour until she had to be at school. She hated Mondays. Amity didn’t bother looking at her phone just yet since she wanted to get at least 20 minutes in the shower. 

Once Amity was in the school parking lot, with five minutes to spare, she finally took a look at her phone. To her surprise, she had about five or six texts from Luz and the rest of their friends. They were all telling her to look at the school’s blog immediately. So Amity did and what she saw made her blood boil. 

The number one post at the moment was made by Matthew Mulligan, naturally, and the image for the post was one of Amity and Luz at the ice skating rink. The picture was one of when they had kissed for a brief moment while on the ice. 

Amity really hated Mondays. Her parents were surely going to see this and as it was on Matt’s account, the only thing Amity could do was report it. But she knew nothing could be done in time to prevent her parents from seeing it as they checked the school blog daily. Amity begrudgingly headed into the school and sought out the comfort of her girlfriend.

When Amity found Luz in their English class just before it started, Luz immediately pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug.

“I’m so scared, Luz. My parents are going to see and everything’s gonna...I don’t know what to do!” Amity murmured, pulling away from Luz. 

“We’ll figure something out at lunch, okay?” Luz tried to soothe Amity. 

Amity nodded mutely, but her fear remained all the way throughout her morning classes and to lunch time. Luckily her entire friend group and Luz was at lunch today, and that did make Amity feel a little bit better for a moment. Then she remembered that her parents would most likely know by the time she got home from school that day. She did have work that day too, maybe she could talk to Lilith? 

“Amity? Hey Amity, come back to us,” Luz spoke gently to her girlfriend, pulling Amity back out of her thoughts. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just scared…” 

Boscha nudged Amity gently with her elbow and said, “Hey, you’re 18 now. Technically they can’t do anything. And if they tried taking your phone away it could be considered illegal since you’re 18.” 

“Right…can we please talk about something else? Anything, I don’t care, just please distract me for a while,” Amity asked her friends. 

Luz was uncertain about this as she knew it was only going to end badly, but then Willow started talking about something that had happened in one of her morning classes and everyone shared a bit of how their own nights went and such. After school, Amity was glad that she had to go to work first. She definitely could not handle going home right away. 

Lilith was helping a customer at the service desk when she saw Amity walk in. The green haired girl had a troubled expression on her face, and Lilith made a mental note to check in with Amity during her break. When the break came, Lilith went into the break room to find Amity holding her phone with a trembling hand. 

Amity was currently reading a few text messages from her parents. 

_ Mother: Care to explain this?  _ There was a link to Matt’s blog post in her mother’s text.

_ Mother: Come straight home after work young lady, we need to talk.  _

_ Father: Your mother has already texted you but I need you to see in my office as soon as you get home.  _

“Amity?” Lilith spoke gently, but Amity still jumped out of her seat in fear. 

Amity relaxed when she saw it was only Lilith and ducked her head in shame. “I’m sorry, I’m just really stressed, that’s all!” 

Lilith sat down next to Amity and asked, “Would you like to talk about it?” 

“Not really,” replied Amity. “I need to deal with this myself. Thank you though.” 

Lilith sighed, sad that Amity didn’t want to open up more to her but she also understood. Amity may be dating her niece, but there was still a level of privacy the girl wanted to maintain. 

“Alright, well know that you can always talk to me, okay?” Lilith offered Amity an opening, wanting to show her support. 

“Thanks Ms. Cl-I mean, Lilith,” said Amity with a sad smile. 

Lilith kept an eye on Amity throughout the rest of her shift, but the girl’s mood didn’t seem to improve. Amity clocked out when work was done and got into her car. The sky was still dark and heavy with storm clouds and rain continued to drench her car. She put her hands on the wheel, hesitating. This was it. She was done for.    
  
Amity tried to calm herself and she focused on driving home. Her siblings weren’t even going to be home for this. She would be all on her own. Amity arrived at home and saw her mother’s finely polished fancy car already sitting in the driveway. She gulped, knowing what was awaiting inside the manor. 

Amity tried to steel her nerves as she walked into her house, stalling slightly to wipe her wet shoes off on the doormat. She went straight to her father’s study as requested. Her father was seated in his desk chair while her mother stood next to him; both of them fixed their gazes on Amity as soon as she entered. 

“Good evening, Mother. Good evening, Father,” Amity said in a neutral tone. “You wanted to see me?” 

“Yes,” her mother began. “We were just reviewing the school blog today, and what should we see at the top of the page but a very interesting post regarding you and Ms. Noceda.” 

  
Amity swallowed, trying not to show any reaction to the name. Her mother continued, “I think perhaps it was a mistake to let you spend time with Ms. Noceda over winter break, dear. She has tainted your mind with disgusting thoughts and caused you to behave in such a disgusting way.” 

“It-it’s not her fault,” Amity tried to defend her girlfriend. 

“You’re right dear, it’s not her fault at all,” said her mother, surprising Amity. “In fact. It is yours. You made the conscious decision to ask your father to spend time with this girl. You led us to believe that you were old enough and responsible enough to make your own decisions. And now look where we are.” 

Amity lowered her head in shame, but then her mother snapped her fingers at her causing Amity to look back up at the woman. 

“Don’t look away from me while I’m talking to you, young lady!” Odalia hissed at her daughter. “You realize what a serious issue you’re causing us? This post shines us in a very poor light. We cannot have our daughter associating with such dangerous people.” 

“But-”    
  
“Do you have any idea how hard your father and I work to make sure you’re successful?” Her mother continued, cutting her off. “We are taking our own money out of our own accounts to fund your education. We have taught you the ways of being a lady and how to act in high society, and we have given you everything you need to succeed. And this is how you thank us?!” 

“Mother I-” 

“Luz Noceda is clearly a dangerous girl and while we cannot do anything about her, we can simply remove you from the school. Your siblings are at least doing well enough, despite their...childish behavior,” her mother spoke, disappointment evident in her tone. “We may simply have to put you in a disciplinary school. A school that will teach you the right way to behave.” 

“Mother, you can’t!” Amity finally snapped. “And leave Luz out of this!” Anger, frustration, and hurt suddenly erupted from inside of her. “It’s not her fault at all. Guess what, Mother, Father, I’m a lesbian! I’m a lesbian, and I have been a lesbian for a very long time. I’ve been a lesbian since Middle school!” 

Her mother paled at this news and her father was stone-faced, eyes burning with fury. Amity continued on nonetheless, “You can send me to a different school if you’d like, but that won’t change who I am!” 

“You poor girl,” her mother shook her head sadly. “After everything I’ve done for you, you still choose to act like this!” 

Amity scoffed, ignoring her rising heartbeat as she focused her attention on her mother. “You have done nothing for me, Mother. Nothing! Everything I’ve ever done, that you know of at least, is because of what you’ve decided for me!” 

Her father stood up and walked around the desk. He towered over Amity and for a split second, she thought her father was going to hit her. In fear, Amity backed away and ran from the room. 

She raced to her own bedroom and grabbed a suitcase, tears coming to her eyes. She could hear loud arguing coming from the other side of the house, and her heartbeat sped up. She put as many of her clothes in her suitcase as she could before grabbing her laptop and her chargers. She slung her backpack back on and took her bulging suitcase, running out of her room. 

When she got to the door, her mother was just coming into view.    
  
“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?!” Odalia screeched at her. 

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving and I’m not coming back!” Amity said before opening her front door. 

She heaved her suitcase out the door, breaking into a run, moving as fast as she could despite the weight she carried. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity goes to the Nocedas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurt/comfort time!

Amity ran to her car, glad she had kept her keys in her bag. It was still raining heavily, and since the sun was mostly swallowed by the horizon, it made her surroundings even darker. She unlocked the door and got inside, throwing her suitcase on the empty passenger seat beside her. 

Amity started up the car and made one last glance at the manor. The front doors were shut, telling her that her parents weren’t about to come after her. She knew that it wouldn’t be the end of it for them, however. Amity left the manor grounds and started driving into the city. She wasn’t sure where she could go. 

_ You could go to the Nocedas, _ she told herself. Then she thought about how much they had already done for her. She couldn’t continue relying on them. They had their own lives too! She drove and tried to focus on the road, but in spite of herself, Amity ended up driving to the street the Nocedas lived on. 

She parked on the side of the road and shut her car’s engine off. Amity reached over and took her phone out of her bag’s side pocket. She didn’t expect either one of her parents to text or call her tonight, but she just wanted to look. There was only one text which was from Luz that read “ _ Good luck Amity! <3 _ ”. It was a little after 8:30 at this point, but Amity knew at least Luz would still be awake. 

Amity decided she should just go knock on the Nocedas’ door. It wouldn’t do her any good to stay in her car all night. She got out of her car and took her suitcase and backpack with her, walking slowly to the apartment. She paused on the porch, letting her suitcase stand on its own. Amity was still a little hesitant, but it was raining and she needed somewhere to stay, at least for tonight. 

Amity rang the doorbell and waited, entwining her fingers together in a fit of nervousness. A minute later Amity could hear activity on the other side of the door and backed up a little in case it was someone looking through the peephole. After a few moments, she heard the lock click and the door opened. Camila stood on the other side, looking at Amity with concern on her face. 

“Amity? You’re here so late!” Camila exclaimed. “Is everything alright, mi niña?” 

Amity shook her head, droplets of rainwater flying off of her damp hair as she did so. “I’m sorry, I don’t really have anywhere else to go and I can’t be at home right now,” Amity explained, her emotions returning to her as she spoke. “My parents know and they were so mad when I got home. I couldn’t stay there any longer and I know you guys have already done so much for me but I don’t know where else to go and I-” 

  
  


Camila crossed the doorway and pulled the young girl into a tight hug, trying to soothe this child who was hurting so much. 

“Shh...it’s alright mi niña, estás a salvo ahora,” Camila murmured. She could hear the girl sobbing softly into her embrace and patted Amity gently on the back. “Come inside, it’s freezing out here and I don’t want you to catch a cold,” she said in English. 

Amity picked her suitcase back up and walked into the apartment; Camila gently shut the door behind them. Camila told Amity to just leave her stuff by the door and she would take care of it later. She led Amity into the TV room and they sat down on the couch together. Once Amity calmed down a little, Camila coaxed her to explain what was going on. 

Amity started with the events of that morning and everything that led to her showing up on the Nocedas’ doorstep. “My parents have controlled nearly every aspect of my life and I just know they’re going to figure out how to punish me for this even though I’m not in the house anymore.” 

  
She took in a deep breath and exhaled, repeating this a few times before continuing, “Camila, I promise I’m just going to stay tonight and then tomorrow I will leave and I’ll figure something out on my own. I don’t want to be a burden on you.” 

Camila wrapped an arm around Amity’s shoulder in a comforting manner and said, “Nonsense. You could never be a burden, mi niña. You stay here as long as you need, and we can talk more in the morning.”  _ Pobre niña, debe estar tan perdida,  _ Camila thought silently. 

Luz walked into the TV room, having heard voices. “Mami what’s-Amity?!” Luz hurried over to the couch and asked, “What’s going on? Amity, surely your parents didn’t kick you out?” Luz asked, not wanting to believe it.    
  
Amity was glad to see her girlfriend here and Camila pulled her arm away, letting the girl stand up from the couch. Amity pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug, burying her tearstained face into Luz’s shoulder. 

“I ran for it,” Amity explained after a moment, looking up to meet Luz’s gaze. “They confronted me and I knew I couldn’t stay there anymore, so I packed a bag and ran.” 

“Oh Amity...I’m sorry!” Luz brought a hand up to Amity’s face and ran a thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tears. “At least you’re here now.” She kissed her girlfriend on the forehead before turning to look at her mom. 

“Mom, please let Amity stay here for a while. I don’t want her going back to her parents’ anytime soon,” she pleaded. 

“I’m certainly not going to send her back there right away, mija,” Camila assured her daughter. Then to Amity she asked, “Have you eaten yet, mi niña?”

Amity shook her head. Talking to her parents had been the first thing she did when she got home, and Amity only had a small snack during her break at work. Camila smiled and stood up.

“I will go heat up some leftovers in the microwave, then. I made homemade quesadillas, is that alright with you?” Camila checked with Amity. 

“Yeah, that sounds delicious!” Amity replied with a grateful smile, “Thank you!” 

Camila headed into the kitchen and Luz nudged Amity gently in the side. “The guest room’s free again, so you can sleep in there,” Luz informed her, gesturing to the same room Yliana had stayed in over winter break. 

Amity was relieved that she would have an actual place to sleep tonight. She went and got her bags from the small hallway leading to the front door and brought them to the guest room, setting them down. Then she and Luz went into the kitchen where Camila was getting Amity’s leftover quesadillas ready. They sat at the table and Amity scooted her chair closer to her girlfriend, seeking comfort in Luz’s presence. 

Camila brought a plate with a warm quesadilla over to the table and set it down in front of Amity, who thanked her sincerely. Then Eda walked into the kitchen, having finally dragged herself out of bed.    
  
“There’s an awful lot of noise happening in here...huh?” Eda’s gaze landed on Amity and she tilted her head. “Not to sound rude, but why are you here so late?” she asked the green haired girl. 

“I’m sorry Eda, but I can’t stay at home anymore. Not after they found out about me and Luz,” Amity explained, trying to stay calm when remembering their reactions. “I had nowhere else to go.” 

Eda gave Amity a sympathetic smile and went to the table, sitting down on Amity’s other side. “I’m sorry about your parents, kid. Stay here as long as you like, okay?” As she said this, Eda glanced towards her fiance to make sure Camila was okay with the decision. 

“Si, we can talk more in the morning as well,” Camila affirmed. “You two still have school and I’d like you both to go to bed after Amity finishes her dinner. I know everybody is tired.” 

Luz made a disappointed whine and Amity chuckled, nudging her girlfriend’s foot with her own. Camila was right, they still needed to go to school despite the situation. Then Amity began thinking about what her parents might do now. They still had control over her bank account and were already giving her money to go to college the next school year. They could simply close her account and cut her off from any further funding. Amity made a mental note to close the bank account as soon as she could and open up her own. 

She should also probably let her siblings know what happened too, but decided that could wait until morning. For now she just wanted to be with Luz and distract herself. As if Luz had read her mind, her girlfriend began talking about random things and Amity let Luz’s voice drown out the rest of her thoughts. 

After dinner, Amity tried to help clean up but was shooed out of the kitchen by Camila. Eda sent both of them to bed and Amity retreated into the guest bedroom that would now be hers for a little while. She changed into her pajamas and settled down on the bed, phone in her hands. She opened up her group chat with the twins and sent them a message explaining the situation. It wasn’t long before they both answered her back. 

_ Edric: THEY FUCKING WHAT I- _ the rest of the message was just keyboard smashing and more expletives from her brother. 

_ Emira: Ok first, I’m glad you’re safe Mittens. And two, don’t worry about mom and dad. I know you’re thinking about what you’re going to do now but Edric and I got your back. Once Edric calms down, we’re going to put our heads together and come up with a plan.  _

_ Amity: Thank you guys.  _ _   
_ _   
_ __ Emira: Anytime Mittens. I’m proud of you for finally getting out of that hell house too.

Amity smiled, grateful that she still had two family members related by blood who cared about her. She set her phone down, feeling exhaustion wash over her. Amity turned off the light and curled up under the covers, falling asleep almost immediately. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> mi niña, estás a salvo ahora- my child, you're safe now
> 
> Pobre niña, debe estar tan perdida- poor girl, she must be so lost


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity gets a phone call and spends some time with Luz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone!!
> 
> I apologize for the somewhat shorter chapter, I really struggle with these transitional kind of chapters but I will say there is some important stuff in here to take note of. 
> 
> Also this should be the last of the angst for a while, I'm not sure what other kind of angst to put in here so it's very possible that the rest of this fic might just be fluffy. 
> 
> As always thanks for reading!

In the morning, Amity joined Luz in the kitchen for breakfast. Eda had already left for work but Camila had gotten up a little before 7am so she could make breakfast and talk with Amity. Once everyone had their plates, Camila spoke,

“Amity, Eda and I talked a little more last night and we want you to have somewhere to stay during the rest of the school year, at least. So you can stay with us until after graduation, and then we can discuss our next steps.” 

Amity’s eyes widened and tears threatened to return. “Th-thank you,” Amity said, touched by this generosity. “I can help with chores, or rather I will help with chores. I don’t want to be a complete freeloader!” 

Camila was fine with this and said, “I would appreciate the extra help. I also wanted to ask if there was anything else you might need from your parents’. I’m certain you forgot something and if you need to go back and grab some things, I’m happy to go with you.” 

“Um...I’m not sure yet,” Amity said after a moment of thought. “I was in kind of a hurry though, so I’ll have to check after school today.” 

Camila was satisfied with this answer and the three of them finished breakfast. Amity and Luz went to school that day as normal, but updated their friends in the group chat at lunch. Luz didn’t want to talk about Amity’s situation out loud and risk embarrassing her. The whole school did not need to know what was going on between Amity and her parents, after all. 

After school, Amity’s phone rang as she and Luz got in her car to head home. Amity checked the ID and saw it was her father. She showed it to Luz, unsure if she should answer the phone or not. 

“It’s up to you, Amity. I’m not going anywhere, so you won’t be alone,” Luz said. 

Amity nodded and hit the connect button before bringing the phone to her ear. “Hello father,” she greeted in a neutral tone of voice. 

“Good afternoon Amity, I trust you found suitable lodgings after your outburst last night?” he asked, all business as usual. 

Amity was a little surprised that her father was asking that, and wondered if it was possible that Alador still cared for his daughter a little bit. Her mother had always been the most cruel, and her father had merely kept his distance and turned a blind eye to his mother’s actions. That said, he was still the one who provided the basic necessities they needed to succeed in life. 

“I did find a place to stay, yes,” Amity replied, trying to keep her tone neutral. 

“Excellent. I’d like to update you on your financial situation. I am not so cruel as to completely shut off all funding for your education because despite your...misgivings, I still want to see you succeed. So I have shut down your current account with your mother and I, and created a new private one that is accessible only by myself. I will continue to fund your education up until you have a stable career and own your own property,” Alador informed his daughter. “Is this acceptable?” 

Amity felt some of the tension leave her shoulders as her father spoke. At least he wasn’t going to completely abandon her, and that one small thing gave Amity some hope. Perhaps things weren’t completely over with her parents. 

Realizing her father was still awaiting an answer, she said, “Yes, of course. Thank you father, I am very grateful for your kindness.” 

“As you should be,” her father spoke in that patronizing tone that Amity hated so much. “If I find that you are falling behind or failing any of your future courses, I will cease the funding immediately. Understand?”

“Yes father,” said Amity, taking a shaky breath. “I understand.” 

“Excellent. Goodbye,” her father abruptly hung up and Amity lowered the phone.

She relayed the conversation to Luz and her girlfriend leaned over to hug Amity. 

“That’s good news then!” Luz exclaimed, hugging her girlfriend tightly. 

Amity returned the hug and set her phone down on the tray between the front seats. A small part of her hoped that this meant her father might eventually come around and want her to come back home. Of course that was naive, Amity reasoned with herself. She didn’t forget the tone her father maintained throughout the entire conversation, the tone that implied Amity was still a disappointment. 

“Hey Amity, come back,” Luz spoke gently, reaching over and taking her girlfriend’s hand. She could tell Amity was about to get lost in her head again. “How about we go somewhere fun?” she suggested. 

Amity gave her girlfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze, smiling gratefully at her. “Sure, did you have somewhere in mind?” 

“Well where do you want to go?” Luz asked, wanting Amity to decide for them. 

“Hmm...are you hungry? We could go get sushi,” Amity said after a moment of thought. 

“Sure!” said Luz, smiling brightly. 

Amity drove them to a popular sushi bar and the two of them headed inside. They couldn’t sit at the actual bar of course but there were tables for families and people under 21 years of age, so Luz and Amity sat at one of those and waited for someone to come by. 

They soon ordered sushi and ate their food while talking about various things. The phone call with her father had been pushed to the back of Amity’s mind and she seemed much more relaxed. Luz was glad to see this and continued keeping Amity distracted with anything she could think of. 

About an hour had passed before Amity said, “We should probably head home.” 

Luz agreed and the two of them paid for their food; leaving the sushi bar and getting into their car Amity drove them back home. Both Eda and Camila were home that night, so they were all able to have dinner together. This time, Camila let Amity help clean up after dinner and later Luz and Amity sat in the TV room watching some anime. 

Amity felt her phone buzz in her pocket and took it out, seeing it was a message from the twins. She opened up her thread with them and read the text from Emira. 

_ Emira: Hey Mittens, you still with Luz and her family? _

_ Amity: Yep. _

_ Edric: How are you feeling, Mittens? _

_ Amity: Better. Um Luz’s mom said I could stay with them for the rest of the school year and then we would figure something else out after graduation.  _

_ Edric: Oh that’s a relief. Emira and I weren’t sure how we could have you secretly live in our dorm. _

Amity chuckled at that and wrote,

_ Amity: I’d rather stay here.  _

_ Emira: Of course you would, Luz is there ;) _

_ Amity: Shut up! _

_ Emira: We love you, Mittens _

_   
_ _ Edric: We love you Mittens _

_ Amity: Yeah yeah, love you too.  _

Amity closed the thread and explained to Luz that she was just updating the twins. As she spoke, the gravity of the situation really began to weigh down on her. She really couldn’t go home now, not that she even wanted to. Still, she hoped this meant things were finally over with her parents. Other than her father continuing to fund her, hopefully she wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. 

She was a little concerned about her mother, because Amity knew that her mother was not one to let things go so easily. But Amity was also 18 now, so anything her mother tried to do would be technically illegal. Besides, even if her mother tried anything, Amity knew she had the support of Luz and her family. She also had the support of the twins, as well as their friend group at school. She wasn’t completely alone. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity adjusts to living with the Nocedas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the late chapter! I just needed a little break and all and I was struggling a bit. But the rest of the fic is mostt likely gonna be full of fluff with little to no angst, so I hope you enjoy!

The last couple weeks of February consisted of Amity falling into her new routine now that she resided at the Nocedas. Luz stopped taking the bus since Amity could just drive her to and from school now. Camila was very strict about the girls not being in each other’s rooms late at night. If they needed to study they could do it in the TV room and if Amity or Luz wanted to talk to the other girl in one of their rooms, the door needed to be wide open. Eda was a little bit more lenient about it since she understood both girls were practically adults at this point, but she did enforce the open door rule as much as Camila did. 

Planning for Camila and Eda’s wedding was still underway, and despite Luz’s numerous attempts to help her moms wanted her to focus on school instead. Now that Amity was living with the Nocedas, she even tried to offer help but Eda said the same thing applied to Amity; she needed to focus on her own school work. 

However, Luz did finally get her pantsuit for the wedding since she was going to be one of Camila’s bridesmaids along with some of her mom’s work friends. The pantsuit arrived on the last Thursday of February and Amity realized she hadn’t grabbed any of the nice dresses in her closet from her parents’ house. She started to panic, unsure of what to do. She asked Camila for advice and the older woman told Amity they could just go out and buy a new dress. Besides, Camila wanted Amity to have a dress that matched Luz’s pantsuit since they were dating.

Camila and Amity went out to a dress shop on the last weekend of February and Amity was able to find the perfect dress. She would buy it with her own money of course because Amity knew she had plenty, Camila was just there to help her pick out the dress itself. When they finally returned to the apartment with a dress, Amity quickly hid it inside the closet in her room before Luz could see. She wanted to see the look on Luz’s face when she saw Amity in her new dress. 

A snowstorm greeted Seattle during the first week of March, so school was closed for a few days. Amity and Luz spent the first day off indoors since it was still snowing pretty hard. They decided they would make a pillow fort and grabbed nearly every blanket they could find and use. Pushing the coffee table to the side, they stole two chairs from the kitchen and set them in front of the couch. A large blanket was put over the chairs and some smaller blankets were put inside along with several pillows.

With the fort constructed, Amity and Luz each retrieved their own copies of the latest Good Witch Azura novel and settled down inside of the fort. Amity leaned against the couch cushions that formed the third wall of their fort and stretched out her legs. Her feet actually poked out of the entrance a little, reminding Amity that she was probably too tall for a pillow fort of this size. Luz didn’t seem to mind as she simply took her seat next to Amity, folding her legs under her and leaning against the cushions. 

“This is comfy,” Luz said with a small smile, leaning into her girlfriend’s side. 

The fort was big enough that they could both be in there, but small enough that they had to huddle up next to each other. Amity nodded in agreement and the two of them stayed snuggled up while they started reading to each other. 

A few hours later, Eda came home from her morning shift at the coffee shop (snow days sadly only affected school and not her cafe) to hear the two girls reading aloud in the TV room, hidden within their fort. She silently snapped a picture of the fort on her phone and sent it to Camila before announcing her presence. She had brought some hot chocolate from work and walked into the TV room and to the fort’s entrance. 

“I got some hot chocolate if you girls want any,” Eda said, crouching down so she could peek into the fort. 

“Ooh, thanks Eda!” Luz beamed at her and set down her book so she could lean forward and take the cups from Eda’s hands. 

Amity took the cup Luz handed her and smiled brightly at Eda, “Thank you! I hope you don’t mind that we made a pillow fort…” 

“It looks pretty impressive if you ask me,” said Eda with a grin. “I like it. I’ll let you two get back to reading. Have fun.” She gave them a wave before disappearing from view. 

Luz took a sip of her hot chocolate and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Amity resumed reading where she had left off a minute ago and Luz closed her eyes, just listening to the sound of Amity’s voice. Amity did stop when it was Luz’s turn to read and nudged the other girl with her elbow.

“You’re not falling asleep on me, are ya?” Amity asked teasingly. “Am I boring you?”

“No! Of course not!” Luz opened her eyes and shook her head. “I just uh, like listening to you talk, that’s all…” She blushed deeply when she said that, her cheeks warm. 

“Oh…” Amity blushed as well, not really having expected that. Then she was reminded of something and asked, “Wanna know something?”

“Hmm?” 

“I used to think your voice was really annoying, actually. Last year when we were still juniors, that is. But I think that was just because I was jealous of you,” Amity admitted, a thoughtful look on her face. “You know I never actually hated you, right? It was really just jealousy, because you’re so smart and well I liked being the smartest one in the room at the time. I just didn’t know how to handle it”

Luz frowned, thinking back on their junior year. That did kind of make sense, considering how desperate Amity had been to find a reason why Luz’s grades were equal to hers. She guessed that, in a way, she and Amity had been rivals. Amity had just approached it the wrong way and resorted to bullying Luz rather than just trying to challenge and test her. 

“Well, it certainly didn’t feel that way,” Luz responded finally. “You did do a lot of things wrong Amity, and I’m glad you haven’t forgotten that.” 

“I know,” said Amity, feeling guilty. She folded her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top, hugging her legs. “I’m sorry.” 

“But…” Luz put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “One of things I like about you is how hard you work to make yourself better. You’re doing your best to do things the right way, and I like that about you.” 

Amity gave Luz a small smile, and Luz’s hand fell off her shoulder to land in Amity’s hand. Their fingers interlaced together and Luz gave Amity’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

“I also remember last September, with that post Matt made on your account, I was really unsure of what to think,” said Luz, moreso thinking out loud rather than telling Amity her thoughts. “But you proved that it wasn’t you and that you really had changed, and that was when I was certain I could trust you for good.” 

Amity smiled, glad to hear that coming from Luz. “I won’t ever break your trust Luz, I can promise you that,” she said firmly. 

“I know that now,” said Luz with a smile. 

She leaned over and kissed Amity on the cheek causing the other girl’s cheeks to turn pink. Luz chuckled, finding it cute that Amity still blushed every time she kissed her. The mood had turned a little dark so Luz decided they should continue reading Azura. When they had read enough, Luz grabbed her laptop and they watched anime for the rest of the day. 

They ended up camping out in the TV room that night. Camila was about to tell them to go sleep in their own rooms like proper adults when she saw that both girls had fallen asleep next to each other, their books having fallen onto the floor beside them. It was an adorable sight and Camila didn’t have the heart to wake them up. She decided it would be fine just for tonight and quietly left the TV room, turning off the light behind her.

Amity awoke the next morning, still slumped against the couch cushions. Her back already felt a little sore and Amity was about to shift her position when she became aware that Luz was sound asleep on her lap. The girl had basically rolled over on top of Amity and her face was half buried into the other girl’s stomach. A dampness on her shirt told Amity that Luz had also drooled in her sleep. 

Unlike the first time when Amity had woken up next to, or under in this case, Luz, she didn’t freak out. Her face still grew warm however as she realized this was the second time Luz had used her as a pillow. Amity placed a hand on top of Luz’s head and started stroking her hair, wondering if she should tease the girl awake or not. She didn’t want to be mean, but the fact that Luz was drooling on her was really gross. 

Amity shifted her knees under Luz’s body in hopes the movement would wake her up, which led to a sleepy moan and Luz murmuring something that sounded like “Five more minutes please.” 

Seeing that Luz was at least somewhat awake, Amity said, “You’re drooling on me Luz. I really don’t want to kick you off but…” 

“Huh?” Luz blinked before full consciousness returned to her. She noticed the position she was in and her cheeks burned as Luz shoved herself off of Amity. “Ah! I’m so sorry!” she apologized. 

She had used Amity as a pillow again, and she covered her face with her hands in shame. 

Amity giggled and said, “It’s alright Luz. At least you slept well, right?” 

“Yeah, I did,” Luz replied. “You?” 

“Not too bad, but my back’s a little stiff now,” Amity said with a slight groan as she finally stretched her limbs. She really needed to stand up. “I’ve barely moved all night.” 

She made to get out of the fort and Luz moved so Amity could do so. Luz exited the fort after Amity and the two of them could hear Eda and Camila talking in the kitchen. They decided to go in and say good morning and get some breakfast as well. 

“Ah there they are!” Eda smirked as the two girls came into the kitchen and said, “You kids look like you had fun.” 

Luz and Amity both blushed, nervously glancing at each other before going to the table. Camila had just finished cooking some eggs and toast, making enough for everyone. They all had breakfast together and Camila told the girls to clean up the fort before they did anything else today. That was reasonable enough so after breakfast, the girls shooed Camila and Eda off to work insisting they could clean up the entire house for them. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Amity have a snow day date! Matt gets his just desserts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah I may have channeled Beta Lumity in here hahaha. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING FOR MATT MAKING BIPHOBIC COMMENTS TOWARDS LUZ. But don't worry. He gets justice. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!!!

After cleaning the kitchen and the TV room, the girls went straight to showering and changing since they still wore the previous day’s clothes. They met in the hallway again once they were dressed, ready to get out of the house after being indoors for 24 hours.

Luz wore an army green jacket with a white and purple striped shirt underneath, as well as black jeans and a beanie. Amity wore a peach pink sweater dress underneath a long blue coat with a fluffy collar. The coat had been a present from Camila for her birthday and Amity had been wearing it every time she went outside. Luz nodded appreciatively at the coat, causing her girlfriend to blush a deep pink. 

The two of them headed out of the apartment, and Luz took Amity’s hand in hers as they walked down the steps to the sidewalk. 

“What do you say we go to the beach? It’s pretty empty this time of year, which would be perfect for us,” Luz suggested.

“Oh we can do that, and maybe visit the boardwalk too?” Amity asked, liking this idea. 

“Yeah!” Luz grinned and the two of them got into Amity’s car. They drove down to the Alki beach area and parked nearby. Luz and Amity went to a small ice cream shop that sold homemade ice cream, including options made with soymilk. They got their ice creams and set out on the boardwalk, walking close together as they ate. 

The air was chilly, but also salty since they were right by the ocean. Luz and Amity made their way down to the beach and sat on one of the benches in the area. Luz snuggled up next to her girlfriend while eating her ice cream and a few quiet moments passed as they ate. Then Luz tried to reach over with her spoon to steal a bite of Amity’s ice cream, causing the other girl to sigh in exasperation. 

Amity poked Luz’s cheek with her spoon before moving away from her. She pushed Luz to an upright position before the girl could fall over and rolled her eyes. 

“My ice cream, Luz,” Amity said when she pouted at her. 

“Fine, fine,” Luz grumbled in mock disappointment. “Someone doesn’t want to share her ice cream, I guess.” 

Amity snorted in amusement and pointed out, “You’re lactose intolerant, Luz. You can’t have any of mine.” 

“It just looks so good!” Luz whined, gesturing to Amity’s vanilla sundae coated in caramel and chocolate. 

“Still not getting any, nerd,” said Amity, taking another bite of her ice cream.   
  


Luz gave up and continued eating her own ice cream. They admired the view together until their ice creams were all gone. After the trash was thrown away, Luz got another idea. 

“Hey Amity, want to go to an arcade?” she asked. 

“Sure!”

The two of them walked down the boardwalk to a popular arcade that was already bustling when they arrived. They walked inside and bought some game coins at the front desk before going to browse what the arcade had to offer. 

“Oh, Luz, look at that one!” Amity pointed to a machine that had two multi colored platforms in front of it and Luz recognized it as an anime themed dancing game. 

“Oh yeah we gotta do that one,” said Luz. 

The girls each took a platform and Luz popped a couple of coins into the machine. The game powered up and a small anime girl on screen asked them to pick a song to dance along to. Amity found a song on there by a popular band called the Banshees and suggested that one, which Luz readily agreed to. 

Amity hit start and it was at that moment that they each realized that they had never played a game like this before. So naturally, the first round was hilarious as they frantically bounced around trying to put their feet on the right squares while watching the respective icons float up on the screen. 

Luz was starting to feel a little dizzy as her brain struggled to keep up with the rapidly rising icons on screen and she wobbled a bit on her legs as she did another quick turn. 

_ “Esto va demasiado rápido! _ ” she cried just before she lost her footing.

Amity was just doing a hop over to another square when she saw Luz start to fall and yelled out for her in warning. She reached over to grab the other girl's arm but Luz’s weight ended up pulling Amity down with her, and the two girls landed on the floor with a thud. 

“Owwww!” Luz groaned, wincing as she had landed on her shoulder. 

Amity ignored the fact that she had landed on top of Luz and her face was inches away from the other girl’s, rolling off of her so she could sit up. Luz flushed in embarrassment as she sat up and rubbed her shoulder. Amity was on her knees beside Luz, looking at her with concern. 

“Are you okay?” Amity asked her girlfriend. 

“Yeah...that was just too fast for me,” Luz explained with a wry smile. “Sorry.” 

Amity smiled, glad that Luz was unhurt. She stood up and held out a hand to help Luz stand as well. “Don’t worry about it,” she assured her girlfriend. “We’ll pick an easier song.” 

Luz liked that idea and the two of them returned their attention to the screen. It was then that Amity noticed there actually was a difficulty rating for every song and the song they had chosen was labeled as ‘Hard Difficulty’. Of course the song had ended and the two characters representing Amity and Luz were wearing sad expressions as the word “failure” hung over their heads. 

“Well, now we know better,” said Luz, trying to salvage the situation. She went back to the menu and they picked a song that was at Easy difficulty, which was one step above Beginner difficulty. “Let’s try this again?” Luz asked, glancing back at Amity. 

Amity gave the go ahead and Luz started the new round. This was a lot easier for them now and both girls were able to keep up with the steps and the music. As the song progressed, Luz felt more confident about doing turns and decided to do a jump and twist kind of move. She mostly succeeded, only wobbling when she landed but quickly moved to hit the next square as the song continued. Amity smirked at her and gave her a thumbs up as she danced on her own platform. 

Luz grinned and the two of them finished the song with renewed energy. They gave each other a high five after the onscreen characters did a victory dance indicating their job well done. Luz stepped off the platform and looked around, curious about what they should play next. Her eyes landed on another multiplayer game that had two joysticks in front of its screen. 

“Let’s try that one!” Luz suggested. 

Amity agreed to try it and they played that game along with a few others afterwards. Then Luz counted how many coins they had left and they had enough for a couple more games. They had also collected quite a fair amount of tickets too so a visit to the prize counter was due.

“Hey Luz, how about air hockey?” Amity asked, gesturing to an air hockey table nearby. 

“Ooh yeah, that one’s a classic!” Luz said enthusiastically. 

The two of them took their places on either side of the air hockey table and Amity said, “You may be my girlfriend, but I am  _ not _ going easy on you.”

Luz grinned, thinking the same thing. “Neither will I, Blight.” 

Amity giggled and said, “Bring it on then, Noceda.” 

The two of them started and the first round probably took way longer than it should have been. Luz kept moving her striker too fast and Amity was the exact opposite, just leaving her striker in one place most of the time and knocking away the disc whenever it came too close. 

“Two out of three,” Luz said after Amity finally won the round. 

Amity nodded and they played two more games, but of course it became three out of five, and then four out of six. They ended up hogging the air hockey table for the next hour and a half until one of the employees had to come over and tell them to let other people have a chance to play. Luz and Amity both apologized to the employee and decided they should probably move on. 

A familiar but unwanted face appeared into their view, and it was of course Matthew Mulligan. He was leaning against a machine staring daggers at them. Luz got the impression that he had been there a little while. 

“Ugh, what’s Dulligan doing here?” Luz grumbled under her breath.    
  
“Well if it isn’t the dyke and her little pet,” said Matt, sneering at Amity. “I hear people like her have a hard time staying in one relationship. They can’t be trusted, you know.” 

Amity’s jaw clenched in anger at Matt’s words and she stepped forward, staring Matt in the eye. “What did you say about my girlfriend?” She asked, making her tone as threatening as she could. 

“I said bitches like her tend to cheat,” Matt repeated himself. He pointed at Luz and said, “How do you know she isn’t sleeping with everyone behind your back?” 

Amity’s hands were balled into fists and she was very tempted to punch Matt right now, but didn’t want to when there were a lot of kids still in the arcade. 

“Don’t you dare talk about my girlfriend like that, you rotten piece of shit,” Amity growled at him. 

“Come on Amity, let’s just go already,” said Luz, tugging on Amity’s coat. She really didn’t want to deal with Matt today. 

Amity nodded, feeling like that was a better idea. She took Luz’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before shoving past Matt and walking out of the arcade with Luz. Matt followed them out and Amity could hear him shouting after them. 

“Man she’s got you whipped! You better hold on tight to her before she decides to go fuck with someone else!” 

That did it. Luckily they were outside of the arcade now, so Amity didn’t hesitate when she whirled around to face Matt and deck him square in the face. Matt cried out in pain as Amity heard a rather satisfying crunch indicating the sound of crushing cartilage. Matt raised a hand to strike back at Amity but she quickly brought up her knee, hitting him straight in the crotch. 

“Fuck off Dulligan!” Amity snarled at him, using the nickname Luz had come up with a while ago. 

She turned around and returned to Luz, who was looking at her with an awestruck expression. 

“Damn Amity...that was badass!” Luz exclaimed, beaming with pride. 

Amity blushed and just took Luz’s hand in hers. “Yeah well, I couldn’t just let him talk about you like that.” 

Luz blushed as well, touched that Amity was so willing to defend her. “Well now that we’ve both gotten a hit on Dulligan, maybe he won’t bother us anymore?” she said hopefully. 

“Don’t jinx it,” Amity said darkly. Then she brightened up and said, “Wanna grab some dinner before we head home?” 

“Yeah, let’s do it!” said Luz, smiling. 

Matt being forgotten, the two of them headed to a seafood restaurant and ate dinner there, chatting long after the meal was over. They didn’t get home until around 9pm, so they made sure to be quiet as not to wake Luz’s moms when they went back into the apartment. 

Amity got on her bed and opened up her laptop, checking the school’s blog. She didn’t see any posts by Matt yet so she decided to get ahead of him and make her own post. Amity read over her post before submitting it. She did mention Matt, but in a vague way that made it sound like Amity had no idea who he was. The post read: 

_ Had a great day out with my girlfriend today. Got to punch a dick too, so that was fun. I think it was some guy from school, Dulligan or something? I can’t remember. Enjoy your snow days, guys!  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh i miss playing Air Hockey :(
> 
> Translations: 
> 
> Esto va demasiado rápido- This is going too fast!
> 
> Next will probably be the Wedding unless I think of something else first!!


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and co. discuss college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this isn't the wedding chapter because guess what I did think of something else. I apologize it for being shorter than usual, I'm sorry. 
> 
> So this might be prep for a potential threequel (My beta reader told me that was the word for a third sequel) but I still need to think of more ideas if I'm gonna do one. So don't get too excited just yet, about that at least. 
> 
> You can get excited now for the next chapter or two will be the wedding!!!

When school finally opened up again, Amity and Luz went to school together as usual. Neither one of them saw Matt until it was lunch time, but Amity was sure most of the school had read her post by now. As the rest of their friends joined them at lunch, Amity scanned the cafeteria for Matt.

She spotted him sitting a few tables away, sitting with a few of his friends. He looked angry and when Amity caught his eye, Matt scowled at her. Amity just smirked back and Matt looked away, turning his attention to his friends. Amity felt a swell of pride, knowing that she had won. 

Luz, observing this exchange, just smirked and rolled her eyes. Then Willow spoke up, drawing Amity’s attention away from Matt. 

“College acceptance letters will start coming in at the end of this month, you know,” she said matter of factly. “I’ve applied to St. Epiderm over in Central Washington. It has a great Science program that sounds very promising for me if I want to major in Biology.” 

“Oh really?” Gus listened in even though he was still a year younger than the rest of them. “I’ll keep that one in mind myself then!” 

“My siblings actually go there,” said Amity. “That school is also known for their theatre program which is what the twins are there for. They’re both majoring in the Performing Arts.” 

“I don’t really wanna think about going to a college yet, to be honest,” Boscha said. “I still don’t know what I want to do. But my mom did actually make me apply for a few schools, including St. Epiderm and some community colleges.”   
  
“Community college would be a good option if you’re not sure yet, Boscha,” Willow said brightly. “You can take advanced courses in a two year school that go deeper into subjects you’re interested in.” 

“Huh…” Boscha chewed on one of her chips thoughtfully. “That might not be a bad idea. Thanks, plant girl,” she said with a grin at Willow. 

“I have a name you know,” said Willow with a frown. “It’s Willow, in case you forgot.” 

“Right, and that’s a type of tree,” said Boscha. “So plant girl is actually a fitting nickname.” 

Amity nudged Boscha’s foot with her own under the table, glaring at her. “Try to be nice, okay?”

Boscha rolled her eyes and huffed, folding her arms over her chest. “Fine. Thank you, Willow, for the bright idea.”    
  
“Hey, you’re pretty good in chemistry if I recall,” Skara said to Boscha. “You could go into the medical field?” 

“Yeah, no thanks. Healing sick people is not really something I wanna do,” she replied. 

“You could be a pharmacy technician,” Willow suggested. “Or maybe a medical engineer and help develop medicines. You wouldn’t work with sick people directly but you could work in a lab and such.” 

“Huh...do they have something for that at St. Epiderm?” Boscha asked, looking directly at her. 

“They most definitely do!” said Willow, smiling a little. She hadn’t expected Boscha to actually take an interest in her advice. “You should give it a try, if you want.” 

“I just might,” said Boscha, but her voice sounded distant and she still had a thoughtful expression on her face. 

“What about you, Skara?” Amity asked her. 

Skara brightened up immediately, glad someone was asking her about what she wanted to do. “I really want to work in music, that’s for sure. I’m not sure if I want to be a composer or work with an instrument though, but I really like playing the saxophone.” 

“Huh, you might end up in some of my siblings’ classes if you go to St. Epiderm then,” said Amity. 

“St. Epiderm would also be a good place for you two as well,” Willow said to Amity and Luz. “They have a business program as well as a good visual arts program.” 

Luz had been paying attention to her friend for most of the conversation and said, “Are you sure you don’t just want us all to go to school with you?” She meant it in a teasing way but was also curious as it seemed like Willow wasn’t willing to be away from her friends. 

“Heh...Well I’d miss you all terribly if you didn’t,” Willow admitted. “I’m not saying you have to go to St. Epiderm of course! Just that it would be nice if well, we all went to the same college.” 

“Aw Willow!” Luz leaned over and gave her a tight hug. “FaceTime is a thing you know, and we can always visit on weekends! Depending on where we all end up going, of course.” 

“I know, I know, it’s just a little sad to think we might not all be together like this next year,” said Willow. 

“There’s plenty of other colleges and universities in the Seattle area too,” Amity pointed out. “We won’t be too far away from each other.”

Luz agreed with this statement and said, “Well it looks like we’ve all applied for St. Epiderm! The chances of us all making it are probably low, but the chance is still there.” 

The conversation continued onto other possible colleges in and around Seattle. Amity hoped that she and Luz would end up going to the same school, because she really didn’t want to spend the next four years barely seeing her girlfriend. Luz was actually thinking the same thing, and she reached for Amity’s hand under the table. 

It was on the 26th of March that Luz and Amity received their college acceptance letters in the mail. Amity’s father informed her that he would leave her letters on the front doorstep of their manor so she could come pick them up herself. Amity did so quickly, not even sparing a glance at any windows to see if her parents were watching her from inside. 

That evening, Amity and Luz sat down at the kitchen table with their letters to sort through them together. As luck would have it, they had both been accepted into St. Epiderm University, as well as a few other colleges in the main Seattle area. 

Amity’s acceptance letter into St. Epiderm informed her that she had successfully gotten her scholarship that she had applied for a while back. That pretty much sealed the deal and Amity knew St. Epiderm was where she wanted to go. She had always known, and despite it also being her parents’ first choice of college, it was still Amity’s as well. 

“Congratulations on that scholarship, Amity!” Luz said, giving her girlfriend a proud smile. “I’m so proud of you!”

“And I’m proud of you!” Amity returned the sentiment. “Because you actually got accepted in one of the hardest programs to get into at St. Epiderm.” 

“Yeah, the graphic design program is pretty demanding,” Luz mused aloud. “But I’m glad that I could make it, because then I can go into animation!” 

Amity decided to break the news on the group chat, and the responses were almost immediate. Willow had also gotten accepted into St. Epiderm, which made Luz incredibly happy. Willow had been her best friend throughout all of high school, and she was glad to still have her around for college too. 

Boscha and Skara had gotten accepted into Lacuna Community College, which was a small college located in the main Seattle area. Amity assured them they could still FaceTime and visit occasionally on weekends too.   
  
On April 2nd, a week before spring break, Camila and Eda went out to have separate bachelorette parties, Camila with her work friends and Eda with some of her own friends from around town. This meant Luz and Amity had the house to themselves for the night, and they took full advantage. 

They made dinner together, cooking enchiladas with rice and beans. It was a big meal and they ended up storing the leftovers for Luz’s moms to eat later. After dinner was made they cuddled up on the couch and watched some TV until they eventually went to bed. 


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Eda and Camila's wedding! Fluff ahead!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the wedding is just one chapter but I hope you guys still like it! Also I apologize but updates will probably be slower like every other day or so. It's just more realistic honestly.

Spring break finally arrived for the students of Hexside, which meant it was time for Eda and Camila’s wedding! Yliana came back into town for the special occasion and Amity temporarily moved to the TV room’s pull out bed so the older woman could stay in the guest room. 

Amity told Yliana about a few of her dates with Luz and about getting to punch an asshole in the beginning of March. Then the conversation came to why Amity was now permanently living with the Nocedas. When Yliana learned of what had happened with Amity’s parents, she told Amity she was now her granddaughter and she could call her abuelita. Yliana couldn’t help but also tease that Amity would possibly be her official granddaughter in law in the future, which made Amity blush a deep red and excuse herself from the room. 

The Nocedas had their rehearsal dinner on Tuesday, the 13th of April, and the official wedding was the afternoon of the 14th. It was one of those few days where it didn’t rain, though the sky did remain a bit cloudy. There was plenty of sunlight, however, and that was enough for the wedding to still happen. The wedding ceremony itself would take place at the park where Eda and Camila had their first date. 

It was on this day that Amity finally revealed her dress to Luz. It was an emerald green with a skirt that flared out and went down to her ankles. The bodice had a gold trim that went down the middle of the chest and spread out into swirls on the skirt. 

It was a lovely color that matched Luz’s silvery jumpsuit with a black collar and black lapels. The jumpsuit had an attached white undershirt that buttoned up over the chest area so it looked like Luz was wearing an actual suit, only the pants were attached to the top. She wore a gold boutonniere in her suit pocket that matched Amity’s gold corsage. 

The people who attended the ceremony included a few of Camila’s work friends who weren’t bridesmaids, some friends of both brides with whom they were still close and kept in touch, and of course the twins, who sat with Amity in one row of seats during the ceremony. 

Lilith was Eda’s maid of honor and Camila’s was her best friend who she had known since their days in nursing school together. Neither Eda nor Lilith kept in contact with her parents, so Eda played the part of the ‘groom’ while Yliana walked down the aisle with Camila. Luz stood in line with the rest of the bridesmaids on Camila’s side of the aisle. 

Throughout the ceremony, Luz tried hard to focus on her moms but her eyes kept drifting over to Amity in the crowd. She just looked so beautiful in her dress and they both blushed every time they made eye contact. Amity was having the same problem, thinking Luz looked so dapper in that jumpsuit of hers. The twins noticed this and smirked, Emira nudging Amity in the side with a knowing look. 

Luz tried not to cry as Eda and Camila exchanged vows, with little success. She clapped quietly when they kissed, unable to help herself. Then she looked towards Amity, who had a bright smile on her face. The two of them made eye contact and beamed at each other, and Luz was eager to be at Amity’s side again. Thankfully pictures happened right after the ceremony, so it wasn’t too long. 

As the photographer prepared to take pictures, Luz gave Amity a quick peck on the cheek and whispered in her ear.    
  
“You look amazing!” 

Amity blushed and whispered back, “You look amazing yourself!” 

The two of them giggled together, both blushing like the awkward teenagers they are. Amity actually felt quite relaxed, and remembered that time last summer when Camila had told her she would be invited to the wedding. At the time Amity thought that wouldn’t be possible, but now here she was! It honestly felt like a dream, but as Luz held her hand, Amity knew this was very real and definitely happening.

Amity stood nearby as Luz took a picture with each one of her moms and then with both of them, surprised when Camila told her to join the picture. With a blushing face, Amity went to Luz’s side and smiled shyly for the camera. She also got some pictures taken with the twins and there were a few with just her and Luz. 

The reception took place ten minutes away at the Owl House Cafe. The cafe was a relatively big building since Seattle tended to be a hot spot for tourists. It had two main rooms, the main dining area with the ordering counters and then a room that was more lounge-like with comfier chairs and fewer tables. The two rooms were separated by a pair of large doors, one usually kept open for entry while the other remained closed for a sense of privacy. 

The reception took place in the lounge area since it was bigger than the other room, and the flooring was also split with one half of it being carpeted. The double doors were propped wide open for the sake of the reception and the food would be served in the main dining room. Tables for the wedding guests were arranged on the carpeted half of the lounge and the hardwood side was reserved for dancing as well as the DJ who would be providing the music. 

Even though Luz was a bridesmaid, she joined Amity and the twins at their table since the other bridesmaids were women around Camila’s age rather than hers. Yliana sat next to Luz at the table and the twins introduced themselves to her. They got to talk for a few minutes before it was time for Camila to give a welcome speech, followed by dinner. 

After dinner, toasts were made. Luz was finally sitting next to Amity and holding her hand, so she was able to focus her attention on her moms’ brief speeches. Eda teared up when Lilith gave her toast and the two shared a hug, and Camila quickly joined in. Camila’s best friend gave her speech and then it was time for the first dance. The crowd watched in silence as Eda and Camila shared a tender and romantic dance together on the dance floor. Their dance was followed by Camila dancing with Yliana, and then Eda and Lilith danced together since their parents were no longer in their lives. 

The rest of the wedding party got to join in on the dancing after the two sisters had theirs. Luz grinned at Amity and got up from her seat, holding out a hand to her girlfriend. 

“May I have this dance, milady?” she asked with a cheeky grin. 

Amity giggled and took Luz’s hand, “Yes you may, milady.” 

She got up from her seat and the two of them walked over to the dance floor. Luz and Amity faced each other and started dancing along to the music together. They had a blast moving along to a couple of upbeat songs before the DJ decided to switch to a slower, more romantic track. The couples of the wedding party stayed on the floor while others returned to their seats. 

Amity and Luz stepped closer together, holding onto each other’s waists as they swayed along to the music. Luz pressed her forehead against Amity’s, taking in the warm presence of her girlfriend. She was glad Amity could be here for this, because otherwise Luz wouldn’t even think about going on the dance floor. Dancing wasn’t really her thing, and she had proved it that time at the arcade. 

Then another thought occurred to her: this wouldn’t be the only time Luz would be dancing with Amity. Now that she had a girlfriend, she could potentially go to prom. Amity certainly would be the type of person to want to attend prom, and even try for prom royalty. But if she did, surely Luz would have to get voted if she wanted to be prom royalty next to Amity. Luz doubted she would be popular enough to get voted and be able to stand next to Amity on the big stage. Someone else might be standing next to Amity, and someone else might be the one having the big dance with Amity. That left a sour feeling in Luz’s stomach, causing her to frown. 

Amity saw the frown and asked, “What’s wrong?” 

“N-nothing,” Luz murmured. She didn’t want to ruin the moment for Amity, or make her worry. 

“Luz...you can talk to me, you know,” said Amity, concerned for her girlfriend. 

“Just...thinking about the next time we might get to dance like this,” Luz said slowly. “At prom, I mean.” 

Amity hadn’t considered that and connected it to Luz’s frown, “Were you worried I wasn’t going to ask you out to prom?”

“No, not that…” Luz replied. “Can we talk about it later, please? I just want to enjoy tonight with you.” 

Amity understood and gave Luz a comforting smile. “That’s fine. I want to enjoy tonight too.” 

If it were any other time, Amity might have been annoyed that Luz didn’t want to talk about her issues with her. But they were at Eda and Camila’s wedding, and this wasn’t the time for dealing with whatever problem Luz might be facing. So Amity pushed it to the back of her mind and continued dancing with her. 

Soon it was time for dessert and Luz’s moms each fed each other a bite of cake. The cake was made with soymilk as well so Luz was able to eat this one. The party continued until guests started heading home at about 9pm. Amity and Luz helped her moms clean up before they all headed home together. Yliana would be staying one more night before she had to fly home so they all got to eat breakfast together the next morning. 

While Camila took Yliana to the airport that day, Eda talked to the girls about her honeymoon with Camila. They would be flying to Canada and having their honeymoon at Banff National Park. Since they would be gone for about two weeks, Eda informed Amity and Luz that they were in charge of the house while they were away. Eda trusted the two of them not to get into any trouble since they were both pretty much adults now. 

On the Saturday following the wedding, Amity drove Luz’s moms to the airport, Luz coming along with them. They saw Eda and Camila off at security before returning to the car and going back home. When they were home, Amity decided to bring up their conversation during the wedding dance to Luz. 

“Will you tell me what’s bothering you about prom now, please?” Amity asked Luz as they sat back down on the TV room couch. 

“Well...you’re gonna want to be prom queen right??” Luz asked her. 

“Well, yes that’s my plan,” Amity said. “Students can start voting after spring break, which is what I’m going to do!”

“Yeah but…” Luz rubbed the back of her head nervously. “I doubt I’m going to get any votes for prom royalty. Someone else will probably end up being prom royalty with you.” 

“Ah,” Amity understood Luz’s fears now. “Don’t worry! The school knows we’re an item so I’m sure students would vote for you if they vote for me,” Amity tried to assure her girlfriend. “And even if someone else does get the title along with me, you’re still going to be prom royalty to me.” 

Luz blushed at those words, a smile tugging at her lips. “Really?” 

“Obviously, nerd!” said Amity. She leaned in to kiss Luz and the other girl relaxed into the kiss, glad that Amity would still have her back. 

“Who else do you think will get votes for prom royalty?” Luz asked.

“Probably Boscha for sure,” Amity said thoughtfully. 

That made sense to Luz and she grinned, “Well the good news is we won’t have to face Dulligan. He definitely won’t even be at prom.” 

Amity laughed and agreed with Luz, “Yeah, he doesn’t have the grades for it. Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if Willow got voted for prom royalty? She’s been getting more popular lately!” 

“Huh?” Well that was an interesting idea. “That’s true, especially since Boscha’s started being nicer to her. Hah, what if they both got prom royalty?” Luz giggled at the thought. 

Amity smiled and nudged Luz gently in the arm. “Feeling better now?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I am!” said Luz with a grin. She pulled Amity into a tight hug and said, “We should have a party with everyone in the group chat while my moms are gone.” 

“Oh that would be fun!” 

Luz took out her phone and said, “We should probably tell them about the wedding, huh?” 

Amity gave a nod of agreement and took out her own phone as well. They talked with the rest of their friends in the chat and they all made plans to have a little party next weekend. Luz was honestly still a little bit anxious about someone else being voted prom royalty alongside Amity, but she tried to keep it out of her mind so her girlfriend didn’t worry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next is the introduction of everyone's favorite demon!


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz teaches Amity how to make fritos verdes (tostones) and the girls encounter a strange creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluffiness, and King is finally poking around!

On the Tuesday following spring break, Luz decided she would teach Amity how to make tostones, or fritos verdes as they call it in the Dominican Republic. After school, they stopped by the grocery store to grab what they needed including some ingredients for a dip. Upon arriving home, the girls brought the groceries inside and to the kitchen. 

Luz told Amity to wash her hands first and washed her own after her girlfriend was finished. She went to the pantry and took two aprons down off of their hook. She handed one to Amity who looked at the front of it curiously. 

The apron read, “Kiss the Cook.” She smiled and put it on. Luz put on her own apron which read “Hello hot stuff.” There was a sewn-in frying pan with flames coming out of it underneath the text. Luz pointed at Amity’s apron and stepped closer to her. 

“May I please kiss the cook?” Luz asked with a playful smile. 

“Always,” said Amity, leaning in for a kiss. The two pressed their lips together and kissed before breaking apart, giggling. “Alright let’s get started! I’m looking forward to this,” said Amity once they had calmed down. 

Luz let Amity peel and cut up the plantains since that part was easy enough. Then Luz put the pieces of plantain into a wide skillet and started up the stove, having Amity flatten and fry them herself. Amity was touched that Luz had so much faith in her, but was also very nervous because she didn’t want to let her girlfriend down.

She wiggled the pan a little bit, letting the plantains slide around on the hot surface. At least, that was something Amity thought she was supposed to do. She looked towards Luz who was making the dip. 

Luz was hard at work, chopping up the tomato and breaking apart the garlic. Amity smiled at the focused look on her girlfriend’s face as she skillfully handled chopping the tomato with a knife. Clearly, Luz had done this many times before. Amity knew she was lucky to have a girlfriend who was willing to take the time to teach her how to cook something new. 

Then Amity heard a sizzling sound coming from the pan and whipped her head around to look. She could smell something burning and made a quick grab for the spatula. She tried to flip each piece of plantain over as fast as she could. 

Luz had just put the chopped tomatoes and garlic into a small blender along with olive oil and parsley. She added in some pepper and started pulsing the ingredients together, blending it into a dip. Suddenly she heard a distressed cry from Amity and looked towards her girlfriend in alarm. 

“I think I burned them on accident!” Amity said, panicking. “Look, the sides are all burnt!”

Luz turned the blender off and went over to Amity’s side, looking down at the pan, seeing that the plantains inside were pretty black. “Aw, no worries,” Luz assured her girlfriend. “We got plenty more plantains to make up for that.” 

Amity’s shoulders slouched in disappointment, she had ended up ruining the plantains after all. With a worried frown, she took the pan of burnt plantains and went to the pantry where the trash can was. As she opened it, Amity could see the trash bag was pretty full. She decided she would take the bag out to the larger trash can at the foot of their driveway later. 

She returned to her girlfriend’s side and saw Luz was cutting up a new batch of plantains. Amity put the freshly cut plantains in the frying pan and set it back down on the stove. This time, she was careful to watch how the plantains were cooking. Luz finished making the dip and when she looked at the pan again, the plantains were cooked to perfection this time. 

“You did it!” Luz congratulated Amity. “Go ahead and put those on a plate then. They’ll need a minute to cool.” 

Amity obliged and turned off the stove. She got a plate from the pantry and laid out the fried plantains on top. Luz had poured the dip into a smaller bowl and it smelled delicious. In fact, the whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of fried plantains and garlic. As nice as it smelled in the kitchen, Amity had a better idea of where they should eat.

“We should go sit out on the porch,” Amity suggested. “It’s a nice day out.” 

Luz shared the sentiment and the girls brought the plantains with them to the porch. They sat on the steps together and set the bowl of dip down between them. The girls started talking while munching on the plantains. When they finished, they worked together to clean up the kitchen. 

Amity put the remaining trash into the trash bag, making it completely full. She took it outside and walked down the drive to the large green garbage bin. She hoisted up the trash bag and heard a slight rip as it fell into the bin. Something had surely spilled, but luckily it was all in the garbage bin.

Amity headed back into the apartment and decided it was a good time to work on some homework. Luz and Amity sat down together in the TV room and worked on their schoolwork, occasionally asking one another for help if they needed. When that was out of the way, Luz brought her laptop into the TV room and hooked it up to the television. They started watching some anime while cuddling on the couch together. 

Now used to the physical affection Luz often gave her, Amity relaxed into her girlfriend’s arms and let her head rest on the other girl’s shoulder. The two of them laced their fingers together as they held hands and watched TV. 

It was around 8pm when a rainstorm started outside, and thunder could be heard along with the rain pounding on the rooftop. Amity turned up the volume of the TV so they could still hear it clearly. This drowned out any other noise that may have occurred outside their apartment. 

On Wednesday morning, when Amity and Luz were just leaving the apartment to head to school, they noticed the trash can had been knocked over during the night. Amity walked over to the garbage bin and saw the trash bag had fallen halfway out. Amity looked to make sure no trash had fallen out since she recalled hearing a ripping sound when taking the trash out the day before. It didn’t seem like it, but the hole seemed somewhat bigger. She decided not to worry about it and kicked the trash bag back into the bin before pulling it back upright. 

“All good?” Luz asked as Amity walked back towards the car.

“Yeah, I think it must have been windy or something last night,” Amity said, opening up the driver’s side door and getting in. 

Luz got in the car and the two of them headed off to school. They had brought a small container of leftover plantains to share with their friends at lunch. There was enough for everyone and Gus asked about the recipe they had used. Luz wrote down the recipe on a piece of paper and gave it to Gus before the conversation moved onto other things. 

Amity did have work that day, but since Luz’s moms were out, she chose to hang around the bookstore. It was only four hours a day and Luz loved being in the bookstore, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. She did try to spend some time with her aunt, but Lilith had to remind the girl that she was currently on the clock and couldn’t socialize much. It wasn’t quite like how Eda could work at her cafe and spend a lot of time socializing with customers. 

Luz was a little disappointed in this but didn’t worry too much about it. On Amity’s break, they told Lilith about making plantains the night before. 

“Oh? You girls should make some more tonight, if you have extra plantains,” said Lilith. “I’d love to try them!” 

“We can do that!” Luz said enthusiastically.    
  
So after Amity was done with work, they went to the grocery store again and bought more plantains as well as garlic and parsley. This time, Luz was in charge of the plantains and Amity made the dip. Amity felt a little bad as she thought Luz was making the plantains because she had messed up the night before. Luz assured her that wasn’t the case and explained that Amity needed to learn how to make the dip as well, putting her worries at ease.

Luz finished the batch while Amity was still working on the dip. She sampled one of the tostones and gagged, spitting the bite into the sink.    
  


“Ugh,  _ muy salado! _ ” she groaned. Amity looked at Luz in concern and she smiled sheepishly. “Guess it’s my turn to mess up today,” she said with a laugh. 

“Well like you said last time, we have plenty more plantains!” Amity repeated Luz’s line from the day before.

Luz brightened up and said, “You’re right!”    
  
Luz peeled the two plantains they had left and chopped them up. About 10 minutes later, the new batch was ready and the plantains had the right amount of salt this time. Amity put a portion of the plantains into a tupperware container for Lilith and stored it in the fridge. It was raining that day but Amity and Luz decided to sit on the porch deck anyway. They stayed under the roof and sat together while eating tostones and watching the rain. 

The rest of the week continued to be filled with rainy days. On Friday, Luz joined Amity in after school story time as usual. They read a book about a young boy getting his very first pet and after the story, they talked with the kids about their own pets. For the kids who didn’t have pets, they told the girls about what pets they wanted to have. The animals ranged from real ones to mythical creatures like dragons and unicorns. 

It was a fun day overall and Amity made sure Lilith got the tostones they had made for her before they left work. Luz’s mind went back to the book they had read while Amity drove them home.  _ Estaría bien tener una mascota _ , Luz thought.  _ Tal vez un gato… _

She sighed and said out loud, “Now I want a pet!” 

Amity giggled, knowing Luz was thinking about the book they had read. Thing was, she actually felt the same. Having a pet certainly would be nice, but the house was already quite full. Besides, with Camila’s hours at work and she and Luz going to college next year, the only one who would be able to care for it properly would be Eda. She had no idea how Eda felt about pets, nor did she even know if the woman had any pet allergies.

They arrived at the apartment and Amity saw the trash can had been knocked over again. Luckily the garbage truck had come the day before, so the bin was empty, which meant Amity didn’t need to worry too much about it. She parked and the two of them got out of the car. Luz raced to the porch while Amity went to the garbage bin so she could pull it back upright. 

Amity gripped the edge of the bin and started to tug, resulting in a loud yowl from inside the bin. Startled, she dropped the bin and a dark shape darted out of the bin. Whatever it was, it ran towards the porch steps and slipped into the space underneath them. Luz had seen this and carefully walked back down the steps. 

Amity and Luz crept to the side of the small staircase, ignoring the fact that they were being soaked by the rain. Something alive was under there and they both wanted to know what it was. Luz knelt down and stuck her head under the steps. Of course it was too dark for her to actually see anything, but she could make out something moving in the darkness. There was enough daylight outside that Luz could see a pair of eyes suddenly appear, and then vanish as soon as they saw her.

“Hey! It’s okay,” Luz called out in a soft voice. “I’m not going to hurt you!”

There was no more movement, causing Luz to frown in concern. “Hello? Come out and say hi!” she said to whatever was underneath the steps. 

There was still no sign of the creature, then Luz heard Amity speak from behind her. “Whatever it is probably just wants to be out of the rain right now.” 

Luz knew Amity was right, but she still wanted to know what was hiding under there. After a few more moments of silence however, Luz knew she was defeated. She pulled her head back out from under the steps and stood back up, wiping the mud and grass off of her jeans. 

“Let’s go inside, we’re both soaking wet,” said Amity. “It’s supposed to clear up tomorrow. We can come back and look in the morning.” 

Luz pouted, not wanting to leave some poor, defenseless creature alone all night. She looked at Amity pleadingly, a look she had used many a time on her mother. Amity’s heart tugged at Luz’s show of compassion, but she knew they had to think logically. 

“It’ll be safe under there. Besides, it might go back to its home later tonight,” she tried to comfort Luz. 

“But we’ll still check in the morning, right?” Luz asked, hopefully.    
  
“Yep. First thing!” Amity assured her, taking her hand. “Now come on already.” 

The two of them went inside and took off their shoes, deciding to place them right outside the door on the porch. Luz didn’t want to track mud into her moms’ house after all. That would be really annoying to clean up. The girls went to change into dry clothes in their respective bedrooms. They settled down together on the couch in the TV room, spending the rest of their evening reading The Good Witch Azura. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> Muy salado- Too salty!
> 
> Estaría bien tener una mascota...tal vez un gato- It would be nice to have a pet...maybe a cat


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz checks on the creature under the steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff. Not much to say here. I think the next chapter will be a little shorter and then I'm gonna move on to Prom stuff next!

Luz had a lot of trouble sleeping that night. She couldn’t stop thinking about whatever was hiding under their apartment steps! Luckily, she did manage to get some sleep at around 1am after being on her phone and trying to distract herself. Luz woke up on Saturday morning and checked the time. It was only a little after 7am. Then she remembered the previous day's events.

“ _ O es verdad! ¡Necesito asegurarme de que esté bien _ !” Luz exclaimed, getting off of the bed. 

She looked out the window and was relieved to see that it wasn’t raining, though the sky was still patchy with clouds. Luz pulled on a pair of jeans as she was uncomfortable going outside in her pajamas and quickly put on her shoes. She considered waking Amity, but decided it was better to let her girlfriend sleep. It was still very early, anyway.

Luz went to the front door and carefully opened it, not wanting to scare away the creature with the noise. She poked her head through the doorway and saw something move in the corner of her eye. She looked down to see a small animal on top of her shoes. The animal was looking at her with wide, yellow eyes. It seemed wary, but apparently comfortable enough that it didn’t want to leave its spot. 

Luz tried not to squeal too loudly, but the biggest grin spread across her face. 

_ Es tan adorable! _ She thought with glee. 

She stepped out onto the porch, but that made the animal decide it was time to move. It pushed itself off of Luz’s shoes and scooted away down the steps. The animal went back under the steps, its bushy tail disappearing behind it. Luz carefully went down the steps and knelt in the same spot she had the night before. 

She let her knees fall flat on the mud as she bent down to look under the steps. “Hey little guy, you can trust me! I’m not going to hurt you.”

The dawn light was barely enough to light up the darkness under the stairs, but Luz could see a pair of yellow eyes staring right at her. She decided to lay her body flat on the ground, not worrying about mud and dirt on her clothes. She kept herself propped up with one arm while reaching the other towards the eyes. 

The eyes slowly blinked, and Luz suddenly remembered something she had read in an article a while ago. Carefully, Luz slowly blinked back at the creature, hoping the trick would work. The eyes continued to stare at her and Luz couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. That article was bullshit, apparently. 

Luz pushed herself back up and looked at the small opening under the steps. She wondered if the creature would come to her if she just sat and waited. Food would probably make it work better, too. Luz went back into the house, wiping her feet off first. She got some leftover tostones from the fridge and heated them up in the microwave. She walked back out with a plate of tostones and sat on the porch steps.

A few minutes passed as Luz slowly ate her tostones while glancing down every few seconds. Then to her relief, she saw the creature come into view from around the steps. Luz stayed silent, not wanting to scare it off. The creature studied her for a few moments and Luz tried to figure out what kind of animal it might be. 

The animal was incredibly fluffy, covered in a coat of black fur. Its muzzle was an ashen brown however, and the fur around its eyes was brown as well. The stripe went up to the top of the animal’s skull and widened into a large patch of brown fur. That was where Luz noticed the animal appeared to be missing an ear. On the left side of the animal’s head was a single black ear that was pointed and had a large tuft of fur on the tip. The underbelly and the tip of the animal’s tail was a brown color too. 

The mask-like patch of fur around the animal’s eyes made Luz think it could be a raccoon, but the animal held the posture of a cat. Still, the brown tip of the animal’s tail capped a short series of brown stripes that ringed the tail about halfway down. Luz wasn’t sure if racoons had stripes on their tails or not, but she also didn’t know if raccoons came in other colors as well. It also didn’t help that the animal was pretty dirty, with mud coating its fur and a few leaves stuck to its flank. 

Luz glanced down at her plate and wondered if the animal was hungry, She picked a plantain slice off her plate and leaned forward, tossing it towards the animal. It landed maybe a foot away from the animal, and Luz waited with bated breath. 

The animal cautiously stepped forwards, approaching the plantain slice. It sniffed at the slice curiously before opening its mouth and eating it. The animal licked its lips and looked back at Luz, as if expecting her to give it another one. Luz chuckled and let the animal have one more. The animal scarfed it down quickly and started to walk closer to Luz, its eyes on her plate. 

Luz set the plate down next to her and slowly stood up. There were only a few plantains left on the plate so she didn’t mind the animal eating them. She really wanted to give it a bath and then maybe she could stop calling it an animal. Seeing there was one plantain left on the plate, Luz quickly picked it up before the animal could eat it. 

“You’ll have to come in with me if you want this last piece,” said Luz with a smirk. 

The animal looked at her with narrowed eyes, and flicked its tail at her in an indignant manner. She just shook her head and opened the door, slowly stepping back inside. To her amazement, the animal followed her, looking right at the plate Luz held in her hands. She giggled and lured the cat to the bathroom, setting the plate down in the middle of the floor. While the animal quickly went for the last plantain slice, Luz closed the door gently behind her. 

“Heh...alright little one, I’m gonna give you a bath,” Luz told the creature, knowing full well it didn’t understand her. 

She went to the bathtub and turned the faucet on enough that a small stream of water flowed out. Luz realized she didn’t actually have any kind of shampoo for animals and frowned. She would just have to rinse the animal off the best she could. She glanced at the animal who was now watching her, shoulders hunched in a guarded position. 

Luz smiled and went to the sink, getting out the rubber gloves from the cabinet underneath and pulling them on. She grabbed a washcloth as well and stuck it under the dripping faucet, making it damp. Then she reached for the animal, but it backed away, unsure about what was happening. Luz patiently kept her hand out, hoping the animal would trust her. The animal sniffed curiously at her, and took a step forward. When it was in reach, Luz quickly scooped it up, eliciting an indignant yowl from the animal.    
  
“I’m just gonna give you a quick bath, alright?” Luz said putting the animal in the tub. “Just so I know you’re not a lost pet or something!” 

The animal’s lone ear twitched at the sound of the running faucet and turned to study it. Luz giggled and used this opportunity to dab the side of the animal's fur with the washcloth. The animal jumped in alarm, but Luz kept on pressing the washcloth to its body. She put a hand under the animal’s chest and lifted it off its forelegs. The animal’s feet flailed as it struggled to escape. Luz continued trying to wipe the animal down, wincing as it managed to claw a few scratches into her arm. 

Luz was starting to think this was a cat judging by the noises it was making. Then she glanced at the cat’s underbelly and identified it as a male. So it was a tomcat, probably. The cat wriggled out of Luz’s grip and leapt out of the bathtub past her. Or he would have if Luz hadn’t caught him. The cat was now yowling and hissing at her as she tried to hold him with one arm. 

Suddenly the door opened, revealing a tired and confused Amity. The cat used this opportunity to finally break free from Luz and run past Amity, out of the bathroom. Amity yelped in alarm, lifting a foot as the cat brushed past her. She took a moment to collect herself before staring at Luz. 

“Did...did you just bring a raccoon into our house?” Amity asked, still somewhat in shock. 

“No! I’m pretty sure he’s a cat,” said Luz, standing up. “He was sleeping on my shoes when I went outside this morning!” 

“And you somehow-” Amity stopped as she noticed the plate on the floor. “What did you feed it?” 

“The cat is a him, not an it,” Luz corrected her. “And I lured it in with leftover plantains!” 

Amity sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. “Okay, Luz, I wish you had talked to me first before letting a wild animal into the house,” she said after a moment. “Now it- _ he’s _ going to track mud and dirt everywhere!”

Luz shook her head and held up the now dirty towel in her hand. “I think I got most of the mud off of him!” 

“And now I think most of the mud is on you,” Amity pointed out, referring to Luz’s mud stained clothes. “Clean yourself off, okay? I’ll go look for the...cat.” 

Amity left Luz alone in the bathroom and turned her attention onto finding the animal her girlfriend had unleashed inside the apartment. She walked around the apartment, going into the kitchen first. Not seeing anything she moved onto the TV room. Her door was still open so it was possible that the animal could have gone into her room. First though, Amity searched the TV room. Then she saw something dash out of her room and towards the hallway. 

Amity quickly followed him as he ran out of the TV room and into the hallway. He ran into Eda and Camila’s room and she followed, closing the door behind her. The cat scampered under the bed and Amity sighed in relief. Surely this would be the end of the chase?  _ Famous last words, _ she told herself. 

She knelt by the bed and looked underneath, spotting the animal hiding under the corner farthest away from her. The animal’s eyes glinted yellow and once her eyes adjusted, she could see him flicking his tail nervously. She laid down on her belly and tried to coax the animal out from under the bed. The cat didn’t move, and Amity wondered if she should go get Luz. 

She shuffled away from the bed and stood up, walking to the door. She carefully opened it, stepped out, and shut the door again before the cat could escape. Then she went to look for Luz, finding her in her room. Thankfully, her girlfriend was now in clean clothes though she would surely still need a shower. 

“Hey Luz, I managed to corner the...I’m still not sure if he’s a cat or a raccoon...but he’s in Eda’s room now,” Amity informed her girlfriend. 

“Okay, and I’m sorry for bringing him inside without talking to you first,” Luz apologized, feeling a little guilty. “I just didn’t want to leave him out there for any longer.”

Amity smiled and said, “I understand. Let’s call a local animal shelter and see if anyone’s reported a missing pet.” 

“You don’t want to keep him?” Luz sounded hurt. 

“No, it’s not like that!” Amity reworded her sentence, “It is possible that he is a missing pet and not just a stray.” 

Luz relaxed a little, understanding now. “Okay, you’re right. But what if he is a stray and no one’s looking for him?”    
  


“Then we bring him to an animal shelter and let them take care of him,” Amity said decisively. 

Luz was reluctant to do that but there was also the fact that she would need to ask her moms in the first place if she wanted to keep an animal as a pet. Amity did have the better idea. The next few hours were spent calling local animal shelters. At one point, Luz brought a bowl of water to the bedroom and stuck it inside before closing the door quickly. The cat should stay safe in her moms’ room until she and Amity figured out what to do. 

Unfortunately no one seemed to report a missing animal of any kind. They left the house phone number with several shelters in case any reports did come in. So now Luz was faced with the possibility of having to bring her new friend to an animal shelter. She tried to negotiate with Amity. 

“The cat is missing an ear, and he seems to like us! He’s clearly been hanging around in our trash can and the apartment,” Luz brought her points up to Amity. 

Amity had a hard time saying no to Luz, and that was still the case. “Alright, fine. We can keep him until your moms return from their honeymoon, but then we need to take him to an animal shelter,” she finally relented. 

“Yay!” Luz cheered, throwing her arms around Amity and hugging her tightly. 

Amity smiled softly and hugged her girlfriend back. Then she and Luz made a list of cat supplies they would need while the cat stayed at their apartment. Neither one of them wanted the cat destroying the house or starving to death. Amity called Skara, telling her about the situation. Skara lent them a spare litter box and kitty litter that would last them until Luz’s moms were back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> O es verdad! ¡Necesito asegurarme de que esté bien- Oh right! I need to make sure it's okay


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King gets his Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, after this is prom stuff and then probably a few more chapters surrounding their graduation and such. We are nearing the end of this story folks. I'm eager to start writing something new so probably 4-8 more chapters for this story.

Over the next few days, the cat began to treat the apartment as if he had lived there forever. Luz and Amity would spot him just sitting in a different spot whenever they got home from school. The cat would curl up on the topmost part of the couch whenever Luz and Amity sat down in the TV room together. When the girls went to school, they would keep the cat confined in the bathroom with his litter box, food and water, and a few toys they had borrowed from Skara. 

Amity told Lilith about the cat that Monday at work and the older woman decided to let Amity have the week off. Lilith knew how cats behaved and since this one was a stray, she felt like it would be best for someone to be around the cat in the afternoons. That way Amity and Luz could watch the cat’s behavior and make sure he didn’t destroy the house. 

Luz was happy the cat was warming up to them, but she kept telling herself that they would eventually have to give the cat away to an animal shelter. So she cherished every moment she had with him. Thursday was the last day the girls had the house to themselves, but Luz was trying not to think about it as she sat on the couch with the cat curled up next to her. Amity sat on the cat’s other side and the two of them were working on homework. 

The cat glanced towards Luz, and then towards Amity. He was annoyed because neither girl was paying attention to him. So he rose to his feet and stretched out his body. He felt a hand on his back and turned around to butt his nose underneath the hand. The hand belonged to Luz, was now smiling at him and giving him a gentle scratch behind the ear. 

The cat stepped onto the open book on Luz’s lap and pulled his entire body on top. Then he sat down, staring up at Luz pointedly. He needed her to know that it was time for attention. Luz had no choice but to oblige and start petting the cat with both hands. The cat purred in response and stood up again, pushing his head into Luz’s face because that is what cats do. The tip of his tail trembled, a sign that he was very happy as he began turning around in small circles on Luz’s book. 

Amity was now watching this interaction with a small smile on her face. “I’m amazed at how quickly that cat’s gotten used to us,” she murmured. 

Luz agreed. “Yeah, but we can’t keep calling him ‘the cat.’ He needs a name!”

Amity thought that would be useful for when they took him to an animal shelter, but she didn’t voice this thought. Luz was happy at the moment and she didn’t want to ruin that happiness. “Well do you have any ideas?” Amity asked her girlfriend. 

“Hm...I like the name King,” said Luz after a moment. “He walks around the apartment like he owns the place and is pretty loud and demanding when he’s hungry. King suits him.” 

“We’ll call him King then,” Amity said firmly. She reached over and patted King gently on his head. “How does that sound?” 

King gave Amity a soft trill and bounced from Luz’s lap to hers. He turned around and flicked his tail across her face as a way of greeting. Amity rolled her eyes and reached a hand out to pet his head again. King purred happily at the pets and Amity’s heart melted at the sound. King was really starting to grow on her.    
  
Luz’s voice drew her attention, “Hey Amity, do you think my moms will let us keep him? I really don’t want to take him to an animal shelter.” 

“Honestly, me neither,” Amity admitted. “We could ask them tomorrow when they’re home.” 

That statement reminded Luz that the two of them would be at school when her moms’ returned home, which meant they would encounter the cat on their own. “I think now might be a good time to tell them we have a cat in the house,” Luz voiced her concern out loud. “Otherwise they’ll be in for a shock when they get home tomorrow.” 

“Fair point,” said Amity. “You call them though, they’re your moms, not mine.” 

Luz understood and picked her phone up from the coffee table. She went to facetime and rang Camila’s number. The sound made King leap off of Amity’s lap and he scurried over to the arm of the couch. He eyed them warily, unsure of the object in Luz’s hand. They waited a few seconds before the call finally connected and Camila’s face appeared on the screen. 

“Hello girls!” Camila greeted them as Luz angled the phone so she could see both her and Amity. “We were just about to get an early night’s sleep so we can be rested up for tomorrow. We miss you girls!” 

Camila turned the phone to reveal Eda beside her, and the pillow behind Eda suggested they were both settled in bed. “Hey kids! Staying out of trouble?” Eda greeted them. 

“Well...mostly,” Luz began. “Mom, mami, I have something to tell you guys.” 

“We know you’re bisexual, Luz,” said Eda teasingly. That made Camila chuckle a bit and she playfully slapped her wife on the shoulder. 

“Moooomm!” Luz whined. King was curious and he jumped up to the topmost part of the couch. He crept closer to Luz, the human girl unaware of his approach. Then there was a chirrup as King stepped forward and put a paw on Luz’s shoulder, peering over to look at the phone. 

Camila’s eyes widened at the sight and asked, “Luz Noceda, is that a raccoon?!”

“No!” Luz cried out, making King leap away from the noise. “He’s a cat and his name is King! We found him outside last weekend and he’s been with us ever since.” 

Amity could tell Camila was growing more concerned and chimed in, “We called several shelters but no one’s reported a missing pet so far. Luz didn’t want to give him to a shelter right away so we decided to keep it around until you returned home.” 

Camila looked bemused and said to Luz, “I thought you had dropped your habit of bringing home strays, young lady!” 

Luz blushed and tried to defend herself. “It’s been years, mami! But King is a really sweet cat, and we’ve really gotten attached to him. Can we please keep him? Por favor, mami?” 

Camila frowned and asked, “Do you even know how to take care of a cat?” 

“Yes!” said Luz, proud that she actually did have pet care knowledge this time. “A friend of ours lent us a litter box and some litter, along with some toys too! We even got cat food and we’ve been feeding King properly.” 

Camila sighed, thinking hard over this. When Luz was in Elementary school, it seemed like almost every weekend that her daughter would bring home a lost or injured animal. She didn’t just bring in lost cats and dogs however, she brought in any animal that might be lost or a little bit injured. This included snakes, lizards, birds, and even raccoons. Thankfully, Luz dropped the habit when she started middle school but that was likely because the amount of schoolwork had increased for her. 

Then Luz spoke again, “Mami, Amity and I will be going away to college next year. Wouldn’t you like a cat to keep you guys company?” 

“She has a point there,” Eda commented, moving into view of the camera. “They’re pretty much adults, Cam, and it sounds like they’ve handled taking care of the cat pretty well.” 

Eda was right, and Camila knew her daughter was old enough to understand the responsibility that comes with having a pet. It wasn’t like when she was 10 years old and sneaking human food to whatever stray she had brought home that weekend. Camila decided she would allow Luz to keep the cat, if only because she knew how much her daughter cared for animals. 

“Alright,  _ mija _ . I trust you. We’ll need to take him to the vet this Saturday though so he can have a proper examination,” Camila finally answered her daughter. 

“And we can see about finding our own supplies so you can return your friend’s stuff to her,” Eda added in with a smile. 

“ _ ¡Gracias, mami!  _ Thanks mom!” Luz was overjoyed and she squealed in excitement. Luz looked over at King and exclaimed, “ _ Es oficial, ¡te quedas con nosotros amigo _ !” 

King meowed at her, having no idea what that meant. Luz giggled and looked back at her phone. “Well we just wanted to tell you about the cat so you knew before you got home tomorrow!” she said to her moms. 

Amity spoke up again, “We’ll let you two get some sleep. Goodnight, and see you tomorrow!” 

“Thank you for letting us know, girls. We’ll see you tomorrow!” 

The girls said a final goodbye to Luz’s moms before ending the call. Now that Luz was apparently done using the phone, King decided to reclaim his spot in her lap. Luz chuckled and leaned back against the couch, her entire body filled with euphoria. 

“Ahhh I’m so happy! This is great, Amity!” Luz babbled excitedly. 

Amity smiled and relaxed against the couch, taking her girlfriend’s hand. “I’m excited too, Luz.” 

On Saturday, Eda took King to the vet, Luz and Amity coming along with her. The vet gave King a clean bill of health to their relief. Eda returned home with the girls so King could stay home while the girls went out shopping for pet supplies. They got King his own litter box, food, toys, and even a scratching post. Amity took the borrowed litter box and toys back to Skara and thanked her for helping them out. 

King settled in pretty easily with his new family. It wasn’t long before he had stolen Eda’s and Camila’s hearts, and he would sleep in their room every night at the foot of their bed. When it got closer to exams, which were at the end of May, King would keep the girls company while they studied in the TV room. He was the perfect companion for all of them. 


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Promposal!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry chapters are taking forever lately. Probably three more after this? Idk. I hope you guys are still enjoying this fic!

On the Saturday after exams, Luz started thinking about prom again. The dance was exactly a week away, and Luz wanted to give Amity a proper promposal. Amity was currently at the mall with Boscha and Skara, and Luz was settled on the couch with an anime show running on her laptop, but she wasn’t really paying any attention. She was trying to think of a great promposal that would make Amity feel special. 

Most people made a poster, so Luz figured she would do the same. She started formulating a plan, thinking about everything that would be happening this week and how she could work around it. Eventually, she decided she would make a surprise for Amity at the bookstore. 

When Eda got home from work a bit after 1pm, Luz asked her if she could take her to the arts and crafts store. Eda agreed and brought Luz over to the store so she could buy some supplies. Thankfully, Amity wasn’t home yet when Luz returned, so she quickly brought all her purchases to her room. King followed her and decided to sit on her bed, watching as Luz got to work.

Luz didn’t make any mention of prom for the next few days, to Amity’s great confusion. She had been expecting her girlfriend to ask her, but maybe Luz was waiting for her to ask instead? Or was it possible that Luz assumed that they were already going together and didn’t need to do a promposal? That was understandable, but Amity had hoped Luz would still do one. 

When Wednesday came around, Luz hung out at the bookstore while Amity took on her after school shift. Luz found Lilith in her office and smiled as she walked inside. Lilith looked up at her niece in surprise, but returned the smile and pushed herself away from her desk. 

“Hello Luz, just saying hi?” 

Luz swallowed, hoping Lilith would say yes to this. “Well I’m planning to do a promposal for Amity because prom is this Saturday. Um...I was hoping I could leave some notes around a specific section and you could send her to work in that section?” 

A thoughtful expression came over Lilith’s face. Then she asked, “May I see these notes of yours?” 

“Yeah!” Luz set her backpack down in an empty chair next to the desk and reached into one of its pockets. She took out a small stack of paper and handed it over to Lilith. Her aunt looked over the papers, seeing each one had an illustration of some witchy looking character. Then she realized that they were drawings of characters from Luz’s favorite series, The Good Witch Azura. 

She smiled fondly, thinking this was so wonderfully  _ Luz. _ “This is very creative, I must say,” said Lilith with an approving nod. “Go for it. I’ll have Amity work in the section you chose for the last thirty minutes of her shift.” 

“Can you make it the scifi and fantasy section, please?” Luz asked. 

“Of course. Luckily it’s very quiet today, but I would wait until fifteen minutes before the last thirty of Amity’s shift.” 

Luz thought that made sense and affirmed her understanding. “Thanks Aunt Lily!” she said happily. 

Luz scouted out the locations where she would slip each piece of paper. In every bookcase, there would be a little plastic holder that held up forward facing books. So when it came time for Luz to put her plan in action, she placed each piece of paper under various holders in the scifi section. Then she quickly hurried out of sight before Amity could spot her. 

Lilith sent Amity into the sci-fi/fantasy section of the bookstore as Luz requested. She started at the beginning and on the first shelf, she spotted a piece of paper stuck underneath one of the book holders. Curious, she pulled it out and looked it over, recognizing Luz’s artwork immediately. 

On this one, Luz dressed up as Azura was grinning back at her. There were words written next to her saying, “You found me! It’s time to go on a very important quest. Will you come with me?” 

Amity giggled and folded up the drawing. She wasn’t sure what Luz was trying to do, and just chalked it up to her usual antics. She tucked the paper in her pocket and continued on scanning books. In the next section, there was another slip of paper under a different book holder this time. Amity pulled it out and looked at it to see a picture of Luz dressed up as Azura. 

“I need to find my Hecate! Please help me, I know she’s around here somewhere!” read the text on this picture.    
  
Now Amity was really intrigued. She set the scanner down, thinking Lilith probably wouldn’t mind. Besides, it was entirely possible Luz had gotten her aunt to agree to this. She scanned the next set of bookshelves, but didn’t see any paper. She moved down the long bookcase to about halfway before she saw another drawing under another book holder. Amity pulled it out and looked to see what was on this sketch. 

“She’s close now, I can just feel it!” This line was next to an excited looking Luz, dressed up as Azura as usual. 

Amity moved onto the next bookcase where she found a fourth slip of paper. She pulled it out and what she saw made her heart melt. 

Luz as Azura was saying, “Let me tell you about my Hecate. She’s kind, and so smart, and tries to act cool but I know she’s really just a big marshmallow underneath. I want to find her soon.” 

Amity pressed the drawing to her chest, making a mental note to give Luz the biggest kiss when she saw her. She continued on to the next drawing. This one was just of Luz’s face giving her a wink. The text next to it read, “You’re almost there!” 

Now Amity was at the other end of the bookcase, her scanner still resting on a shelf on the opposite end of the aisle. A few shelves down was one more drawing, which Amity pulled out instantly. Excited, Amity looked at what Luz had drawn for her on this one. 

“I have a confession to make actually,” Luz as Azura was telling her. “Look to your right.” 

Amity looked to see the real Luz standing just a few feet away from her. She held a large poster in front of her, and she wore a shy smile on her face. The poster read, “You’ve been my Hecate all along. Go to prom with me?”

Amity felt tears come to her eyes and she ran forward, throwing her arms around her girlfriend’s neck. Luz dropped the poster so she could return her girlfriend’s embrace, and the two of them brought their lips together into a deep kiss. The drawings that had been in Amity’s hands floated away to the floor as her heart burst with happiness. 

“Yes, I will go to prom with you!” said Amity, gleefully. “That was the dorkiest and sweetest promposal ever!” 

Luz blushed deeply, happy that her promposal had worked so well. Not that Amity would have said no, of course, Luz had been more worried about what her girlfriend would think of her doing the promposal while she was at work. Amity pulled away and picked up the fallen pictures, sorting them into a neat stack in her hands. 

“Your art is amazing, as always, Luz,” Amity said. “You really went the extra mile, because you could have just drawn stick figures and I still would have said yes.” 

Luz gasped in mock offense. “I would never stoop so low as to draw stick figures!” Then she grinned and said, “Since we can get out of school early tomorrow, my mom wants to take us dress shopping.”    
  
“Oh?” Amity tilted her head. “I could just wear my dress that I wore at the wedding.” 

“Yeah, but I need something that’s not a bridesmaid outfit, you know?” Luz pointed out. “I was hoping maybe you could help me find something?” 

“Oh for sure!” Amity said with a smile. “I can help with that.” 

Lilith had been watching from nearby and approached the girls to tell them Amity was welcome to head home early. She would still pay Amity for the full four hour shift, so the green haired girl happily accepted and headed home with her girlfriend. The next day, Camila took them to a nice thrift shop where they looked for something nice Luz could wear to prom. 

Luz ended up finding a pink tutu skirt and a tuxedo top, complete with ankle-length leggings and shoes. It was a bit of a strange combination, but it suited her perfectly. Amity decided to get a new dress anyway, picking one that had a black top and a pink skirt. The dress complimented Luz’s quite well, and Camila took a picture of the two of them in store. She called it a pre-prom picture, and promised they would still get official prom pictures on the big day. 

That night, Amity texted Edric and Emira about her day and Luz’s promposal. 

Edric: OMG she sounds perfect for you, Mittens

Emira: I think you found your soulmate, Mittens. Be sure to send us pictures!

Edric: We’ll send them to mom and dad too and rub it in their faces!

Amity: Oh please don’t! I don’t want anything to do with them anymore.

Emira: Fair enough, little sis. 

Edric: Have fun at prom, Mittens!


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prom and the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter everyone. I honestly have nothing else to write for this particular story. I may possibly write a sequel but not at the moment. More in the end notes.

On Saturday evening, Amity and Luz had just finished getting dressed for prom. Camila did both girls’ hair and ushered them into the hallway for pictures. Luz and Amity were both blushing in embarrassment as Camila fawned over how pretty they looked. Eda rolled her eyes at her but gave the girls a thumbs up. 

“You look good. Don’t worry, you can get out of here as soon as Cam gets your picture,” Eda assured them. 

“Oh hush,” Camila scolded, playfully slapping Eda lightly on the shoulder. Then she got her phone and motioned for the girls to stand in front of the door. Luz stood right next to Amity and put an arm around her waist, holding her close. Amity slid her arm under Luz’s and rested her hand on her girlfriend’s hip. They linked their other hands together and Camila cooed over how well their outfits complimented one another. 

“Just take their picture, Camila. They’re eager to get to the dance,” Eda told her with a knowing smile. 

Camila took a couple of pictures of the girls as they were, and then asked Luz to give Amity a kiss on the cheek. Luz kept her lips on her girlfriend’s cheek as Camila took another picture, and Amity did the same with Luz’s cheek for a fourth. She wanted to take more photos but Luz reminded her of the time; the older woman lowered her phone in disappointment. 

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m just so excited for you two!” Camila explained. “Have fun!” 

“We will!” Amity said with a wave. 

Luz waved and the two of them were finally able to leave and head to Amity’s car. “I love my mom, but she drives me crazy sometimes,” Luz said as they approached the car. “I thought we’d never leave.” 

“She is right though, you really do look nice,” said Amity with a soft blush. 

“And you as well,” Luz returned the compliment. “I’m excited about tonight!”

Amity shared the sentiment and moved to the driver’s side, but was surprised when Luz slid in front of her. “Allow me, milady!” Luz said, opening the door and bowing. She giggled and said a ‘thank you’ before getting in. 

Once Luz was in the car as well, Amity started driving towards the venue. Instead of going to the school, they would be going to Alki beach. Hexside was hosting prom at the Alki Bathhouse since it was an ideal spot for a school dance. There was plenty of room and when the girls reached the parking lot, they could see several wooden posts lining a path towards the entrance. Fairy lights were wrapped around each post and several students were already in line, dressed in their own prom attire. 

Luz and Amity took their places in line and were in awe once they were inside. The school was doing a “Moonlit Forest” theme, so inside the bathhouse the main room was decorated with soft fairy lights that lined the edges of the room, fake grass mats covered the floor, and forestal colored drapes hung from the ceiling. There was an archway near the entrance decorated with flowery vines. Behind it was a backdrop with a large crescent moon and stars. 

There were several restaurants up and down Alki beach, and the girls decided to go for seafood. So they headed to a seafood restaurant five minutes away from the bathhouse after pictures. Since they were students, they were able to get a table pretty quickly as students have priority seating on prom night. Eda and Camila had given them enough money to order whatever they wanted, so the girls took their time looking through the menu. 

“So...any plans for the summer?” Luz asked, trying to make conversation. 

“Well I have to figure out what I’m going to do once we graduate,” Amity replied. “I’m sort of hoping your moms will let me stay until we go to St. Epiderm.” 

“I’m sure they will!” Luz said confidently. “Speaking of...I’m so excited about the graphic design program!” 

“Yeah?” Amity grinned knowingly at her girlfriend. “You’re going to have a lot of fun with that, I can tell.” 

Luz giggled and nudged Amity’s foot under the table. “So, you’re going to open up a bookstore once you get your business degree?” She recalled a conversation from a while back and wanted to ask Amity about it again. 

“Yep. And it’s going to be right here in Seattle!” said Amity. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Assuming I can find a lot.” 

The conversation paused as the waiter came by to take their orders and continued once he left. “I’m probably going to start working part time at Eda’s cafe so I can start making my own money. I don’t want to have to rely on them forever, you know?” 

“That’s a good idea,” Amity said. “Thankfully my dad is still going to fund my college tuition, but I’m still hoping to work at Terrace Books during the summer. You know, like a seasonal employee?” 

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Luz understood Amity’s meaning. “Also...have you heard from your dad again since last time?” 

Amity shook her head, not allowing that fact to bother her. “Nope, just radio silence,” she muttered. “It’s fine though. I’ll take what I can get.” 

Luz was uncertain that it was ‘just fine’, but she didn’t push the topic. They eventually got their meals and continued talking until it was time to head back to the bathhouse. There was another hour and a half before they announced prom royalty, so Luz had plenty of time to dance with her girlfriend. When they went through the doors, Luz turned towards Amity with a smile. 

“May I have this dance, milady?” she asked, holding out a hand.    
  
Amity giggled and took Luz’s hand, letting her girlfriend pull her onto the dance floor. They danced for a while, swinging and spinning around each other. Soon it came time to announce prom royalty. Amity gave Luz’s hand a gentle squeeze as they looked towards the stage where someone was about to announce the names. 

Two other well known students were crowned prom royalty, much to Luz’s relief. A year ago, Amity might have cared more, but Luz was her girlfriend now. She didn’t mind at all and clapped along with everyone else for the crowned royalty. While the two students had their big dance, Amity pulled Luz away to the side of the hall.

“Look over here,” Amity directed Luz’s attention to a small table that had stacks of handmade flower crowns on top. “We can have our own crowns!” 

Luz grinned and picked one out for Amity, and the other girl did the same. “Amity Blight, I pronounce you my prom queen!” Luz said before reaching up to place the crown on top of Amity’s head. 

Amity grinned and held up the crown she chose for her girlfriend. “Luz Noceda, I pronounce you my prom queen!” she declared as she put the crown on Luz’s head.

The two of them embraced each other and pressed their foreheads together. Luz gave Amity a gentle kiss before asking, “Wanna go somewhere quiet? I’m a little tired of the crowd.” 

“Yeah, let’s,” Amity agreed. 

They held hands as they walked outside, and they were both surprised to see it was one of those rare nights with a clear sky. Amity thanked whoever was up there for letting them have a starry sky and glanced over at Luz. 

“Hold one second, I’m going to run to the car!” Amity said before dashing off towards where they had parked. Luz stood there in confusion until her girlfriend returned, holding a large blanket in her arms. “Let’s sit on the grass for a while?” Amity suggested, pointing towards the grassy area next to the building. 

“Ooh, that’s a good idea!” said Luz. “And we can still almost hear the music too.” 

Amity grinned. “Exactly!” 

Amity and Luz walked over to the grass, and the green haired girl picked a spot to lay out the blanket. Then they sat down together, looking up at the night sky above them. They could indeed still hear music coming from inside, albeit very faintly. The gentle crash of the waves could be heard from the beach and a light wind breezed around them. 

Amity decided to scoot forward on the blanket a little bit so she could lay down on her back. She smoothed her dress underneath her body so she could get comfortable and motioned for Luz to do the same. Luz laid down on her back next to her girlfriend and reached out for her hand. Amity gladly took the hand and sidled up closer so their shoulders touched. 

“This is a nice view, huh?” Luz mused out loud, staring up at the stars.    
  
Amity couldn’t help but keep looking at Luz even as she said that and murmured her agreement. Then Luz glanced towards her, causing the other girl to blush and quickly avert her gaze towards the sky.    
  
“Y-yeah, nice view!” said Amity, trying to sound calm. 

Luz smirked at her girlfriend and said, “You’re the best part of the view.” 

This only made Amity blush a deeper red, and Luz giggled at her flustered expression.    
  
A few minutes passed as the girls laid there in a comfortable silence, admiring the stars. Then Luz sat up and looked over at Amity. She stood up and leaned over, reaching a hand down towards her.    
  


“One more dance before we call it a night?” 

Amity smiled and took the offered hand, letting Luz help her stand up. “One more dance.” 

They joined hands, moving in sync as their bodies pressed together for a brief moment. Then the girls did an upbeat sort of dance, moving as one. They spun around with one another, hands still joined. Amity let Luz do a spin and vice versa, and the dance ended with Luz catching her girlfriend as she fell backwards. 

The two of them giggled together and Amity regained her footing. Luz pulled her in for another kiss. When they drew apart, Luz noticed their crowns had fallen off near the blanket, so she quickly retrieved them and put them back in their rightful places. 

“So, my queen, did you have fun tonight?” Luz asked, smiling at Amity. 

“I really did. And did my queen have fun tonight as well?” 

“I did!” 

The girls giggled again and decided it was time they headed back. Amity folded up the blanket and they returned to the car. It was about 11pm when they got home, so Luz’s moms were both asleep. The flower crowns were stored away in spare drawers in each girl’s room so King couldn’t get to them, but both girls knew they would hold onto the crowns for a while. 

Graduation came on the following Tuesday, and then Friday was the very last day of high school for both Luz and Amity. Camila told Amity she was welcome to stay the summer, mostly because it was only about three more months before the girls went off to college. During the summer, Amity started working full time at the bookstore.

Luz’s 18th birthday was on July 12th, and she had been awaiting this day for a very long time. Starting the summer before junior year, Camila and Eda had started Luz on motorcycle driving lessons. They had brought her to the DMV on her 16th birthday to get a motorcycle permit on her license and Luz had been practicing during the summer months. She couldn’t practice much during the school year due to her moms’ busier schedules and such. 

So on July 12th, Eda brought Luz back to the testing center for people who wanted to get motorcycle licenses. It would be a few days before Luz got her results, but her moms went ahead and bought her a brand new motorcycle. It was solid black but Luz decided to nerdify her new bike with a ton of fandom stickers. 

A week after she got the bike, Amity finally got the courage to go on a ride with Luz. She wore her girlfriend’s spare helmet and Luz let her sit in front of her on the motorcycle. Riding the bike together was thrilling for both girls, and they felt ready for anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Just, wow! I cannot believe I actually managed to write a little over 50k for a fanfic, this is the first time I've ever done anything like this! Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with me on this journey, and I hope you guys enjoyed the story as much as I did. 
> 
> There probably will be a sequel, but I am eager to write something new for Lumity. So the sequel will take a little while. I don't know what I'm gonna write yet but rest assured, I will write more! I love this fandom and I love all the friends I've found in this fandom, and I'm not done yet. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! <3


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